


Petals

by thenoodlesaresalty



Category: Original Work
Genre: 1960s, Abuse, Character Death, F/M, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, LGBTQ Character, Laboratories, Major Character Injury, Mental Health Issues, Minor Injuries, Physical Abuse, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Nuclear War, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Science Fiction, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27515863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenoodlesaresalty/pseuds/thenoodlesaresalty
Summary: In a post-nuclear Maryland, a found family must band together to find answers and help the other survivors
Kudos: 1





	1. Thawing

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So this is a huge story for me. All the characters featured are at least three years old, some even being the first I ever created! I tried to revamp them to fit this world I created, so I hope you enjoy them!!

“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become”  —Carl Jung

* * *

“Cryostasis status: Interfered. Activating emergency protocol…” blasts a computerized voice coming from nowhere. As it finishes its status report, the large chambers containing a few possibly alive bodies start to release clouds of frozen gas, and the bodies are free… at least some of them.

Two in particular are released before the others, one of them falls out and the other struggles to walk out. Patting the ground, the fallen one searches for their glasses. Once they find them, they place them gracefully on the bridge of their nose, looking around the cold and cramped bunker. He notices the struggling one and helps them get out. “Are…” They shiver, clenching their teeth tight, giving them a bit of a headache. “Are you okay?”

The struggling body groans, gripping her head. “Ugh, yeah. But…” She hacks and coughs. “I could be better. Wish I could say the same… about here.” Walking together, they examine the room when they spot the other cryo pods still full of people. She places her hand on the glass but flinches back over the temperature exuding from the pod’s surface. Staring at the row of unresponsive pods, she turns her head to the other person, eyes frozen in place and waiting to see something else come out. After waiting in place for what feels like forever, the other figure takes her arm, slowly pulling her away. “Are we all that’s left here?” She asks, still relying on him for support as they head for the exit. “John, wait.” He stops, looking over to her shivering body. “We can’t just  _ leave _ them. We have to do something.”

He turns to the pods. Sighing, he nods. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do.” Rushing over to them, he examines a particular pod, labeled ‘L. Bernard’, and looks over the various wires as the shivering body stands behind him. His hand hovers over a control panel on the side, unable to decide what button to press and when. His hand begins to shake as the thought of possibly killing whoever was in this pod sends shivers down his spine.

“Need some help?” She asks, bending down and pointing to the panel.

He shakes his head, still hand-hovering. “No, no, I know what I’m doing. I just need… to,” Moving his hand to push a button, he begins to sweat profusely. His eyes shift from every blinking color to the next, further cementing the idea to her that John… has no idea what he was doing. Sighing, he stands back and lets her do the job instead.

She easily finds the button and presses it, releasing the pod doors. Looking over to his twisted, low face, she punches his arm with the force of a nice summer breeze, which makes him smile for the first time in a while. As the pod doors open, a body appears to the two of them, and John gets closer to help the guy out. But instead of walking out, the body falls onto John, making him yelp like a kicked puppy. “Lukas! Oh, it’s so good to see you, we need to go. Lillian probably has…” He looks to the vacant eyes and hanging mouth. Screaming and yelling, he throws the body off of him.

“John? Hey, what’s the big deal?” She goes over to the body, pushing it over to reveal the lifeless corpse of their once friend. “Oh my God! He’s dead!”

“I know!”

“What about the others? M-maybe it was just a fault in his pod’s system.” They rush over to the others, doing the exact same thing to each, and all of them have the same results as Lukas. The bodies lay on the floor, needlessly thawing out as the room begins to feel more and more cramped and hot. She begins to breathe faster and faster, trying to find their pulse, breathing,  _ anything _ to show there’s still hope for them. When she rests her head on the final body’s chest, she realizes they’re gone. Walking up behind her, John tries to help her up, but she refuses, clinging so,  _ so _ hard to the body’s shirt that it begins to wrinkle and her hand shakes. She sits up, head hanging low and head pounding with pain as tears slip out from her eyes.

John furrows his eyebrows, sitting beside her with his arm on her shoulder. “We  _ are  _ all that’s left here.”

She wipes her eyes, voice breaking. “How did this happen? We… tested the machines and they  _ all _ worked. We did…  _ several _ tests.” She sheds a few more tears before sighing and resting her head on his shoulder. “Maybe… they’ll be happier now. The outside world must be completely destroyed and… inhabitable; it’s probably for the best if they don’t have to deal with it.”

He nods, but shakes his head as his eyes go wide. “Lillian.”

“What?”

“Where’s Lillian?” He jumps to his feet, looking over the various names plastered on the cryopods. “She should be… here.” He stands frozen, looking to a singular empty pod that neither of them had come out of. “She left.”

“She left us?!” She yells, tears of grief now slowly turning to those of anger. Turning to the large door on the other side of the room, she sees that it had already been opened, as the keypad had been broken. She growls, running over to the door and examining the busted keypad. Scoffing, she looks through the crack. “That… bitch left us to die here!”

“Now, now, don’t jump to conclusions-”

“Oh! I’m jumping to conclusions alright!” Piecing the wiring back together using various materials found scattered around, she begins repairing the exit. “She rigged the pods to fail-” Rummaging through a tool kit, she finds a piece of silicone adhesive and places it over the wires. “She broke the keypad and left the only way out broken and-” Huffing, she slams her fist onto the keypad. “And she took all the supplies!” she yells, motioning to the wide-open first aid kit and lack of food and water rations. 

“Maybe she woke up as we did, and simply left to go… maybe to find a… or maybe… uh…”

She sighs, entering a code into the keypad. “What did we do to her? All we did was  _ work our lives away _ for her and  _ this  _ is what we get? Eternal suffering in an underground bunker?” 

“I’m sure she had a reason!”

She huffs, taking a peek over her shoulder. “Fine… then you can wait for her and her ‘reason.” The door opens, making a loud screeching sound that echoes throughout the room. The two cover their ears as it finally opens, a rush of various smells and dust flying towards them. She doesn’t look back; she just walks outside, fists clenched at her side. John looks back to the room, the bodies looming off in the back, but he decides to follow her.

“Cornelia!” John reaches her at the top of the stairs, out of breath and doubling down. “Cornelia, I want to… Oh, God, that was a lot of stairs. Cornelia, I want to come with… you.” They look out to what was once a facility for science and medicine, but now is just rubble and debris scattered everywhere. Machines once used for creating some of the greatest innovations of the century, now rusty and broken, with parts of them hanging by a thread. John grazes his hand over the rusted machines he used to spend all his time dedicated to maintaining, now all relics of a world lost to the dust. Soon, he feels a few tears welling up in his eyes, but he quickly wipes them away, turning to see Cornelia staring up into the starry sky.

The corners of her mouth rise as she spins around to see the sky for all its beauty. “Heh,” She chuckles. “You know, even after  _ all _ of this destruction, the sky keeps shining on down.”

He walks over to her, putting his hands into his pockets. “Where else would it go?”

“I didn’t mean like they left or something.” She sighs, closing her eyes and feeling the breeze of the wind on her face. “Just, you’d never be able to see all of this before. The lights kinda… scared them away, like a wolf and rabbits.”

“That… kind of makes sense.” Shaking his head, John looks around the ruins and debris. “We should really search the area though, the sky will still be here, but  _ we  _ might not. Come on.” He begins making his way around the vacant labs, glass shattered all over the floor and junk lying around.

Cornelia, glancing over, notices John’s breathing growing faster, and she tries to come up with a topic to talk about. “What time is it?” she asks, pointing at John’s watch that barely hangs off his wrist.

Shaking his head out of a trance, he asks her to repeat what she said, which she does. Looking down, he continuously taps on the glass, unable to get a proper result as each tap changes the time by the hour. “I… honestly haven’t a clue,” He gestures to the swerving hour hand as he moves his hand. “All I can tell is that it’s roughly around something:30.” Cornelia raises her eyebrows and plays with her teardrop-shaped earrings.

The rooms that hosted scientists and engineers are now empty, with the thick and musty stench of algae and moss in the air making it hard to breathe. Vines grow and cluster around doorways and over the shattered windows. Scratches, likely made by an animal, decorate the walls and floors, varying in intensity and amount. A particular corridor greets the pair; a hallway that leads to the other sector of the facility that is composed entirely of windows. John sighs, hunching over and crossing his arms. “To think,” he starts, looking out the multitude of windows. “this all used to be so…  _ perfect _ . And now…”

Cornelia frowns, slowing down to stand next to him. She lightly punches his arm, smiling at him. “Cheer up, pal. Don’t worry, we’ll find Lillian and get answers out of her.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” He suddenly stops in his tracks, Cornelia continuing to walk a bit before bumping into him. “Cornelia, look,” He points to a figure in the distance seemingly wandering around with no sense of direction. “We need to be careful; Who knows-” Cornelia begins to walk out the corridor. “ _ Cornelia _ !” he yell-whispers, taking handfuls of his hair.

He sprints over to her side, leaning down behind a collapsed machine, gently pulling Cornelia down as well. “Who  _ is  _ it?” she asks, peeking over the top. Squinting, she tries to figure out who this… figure is. “Looks like a scientist… I think. She’s got the lab coat and everything.”

John rubs his temple, still hidden behind the machine. “Or perhaps she’s just pretending to trick us.”

“Hey, John,” She peers down to his sprawled out body.

“What?”

“You remember that one scientist from the robotics division?”

He shakes his head, raising his eyebrows. “ _ Which _ one? There were at least a hundred scientists on the team.”

She takes another peek over the machine, leaning over it slightly. John quickly glances over before taking off his glasses and adjusting the frame. “She’s kinda short? Light brown hair? Dark skin? Large… burn scar across her face?”

“She- wait what?” He gets on his knees and looks over as well, squinting hard to see the figure. “It can’t be,” He slinks over around the machine, keeping his steps as quiet as he can. He soon rises up, waving his arms around in the air. “Hello? Can you hear me?” he calls out. The figure turns to him, completely still and void of life. Soon, it begins to sprint towards him at an alarmingly fast speed. John lowers his arms, furrowing his eyebrows. “I regret this already.”

The figure leaps at him, knocking him off his feet. Cornelia jumps up, rushing over to the two. “Johnathon? Oh, is it truly you?” She holds on tight to John’s lab coat, nearly pulling the fabric apart.

“That depends… who’s asking?”

“Surely you remember me?” She moves a bit back, resting her weight on her left arm and showing off her scarred face.

“Dr. Rolle?” Cornelia asks, leaning down a bit.

“Cornelia!” Dr. Rolle tackles her to the ground, keeping her body close to Cornelia’s. “Oh, it has been so long! It- it all happened so fast! The flash, the burns… oh, the  _ burns _ . Well, more than this one, of course,” She chuckles, releasing Cornelia from her grasp. “I did not think I would find any surviving scientists still in the facility. And by the looks of it, you two came out like two new action figures from the comic store,” She combs her hand through her matted hair, resting the other on her dirt soaked dress. “How did you two survive? Not saying you could not, but you know.”

“There was-” He adjusts his glasses, locking eyes with Cornelia, who has a look of worry written all over her face. “Cornelia and I found a safe spot… to hide in,” He shakes his head. “Dr. Rolle, do you know of Lillian’s whereabouts?”

“Dr. Roscoe? Why was she not just here? I am sure she would stick by her fellow scientists,” The duo looks at each other again, John furrows his eyebrows and Coco cocks hers. “If not here, she might be in the Greenhouse. Lord knows why she spends  _ all  _ her days there, but I am not here to judge am I?”

“The Greenhouse?” Cornelia asks, standing up and brushing off her skirt. “ _ Didn’t know we  _ had  _ one _ ,” she mumbles.

“Why yes, of course. Johnathon, you know where it is, right? Oh, how Lillian would guide you to it, hope in her eyes-”

John forces a laugh out, nodding his head. “It’s the floor above us, I’ll lead the way!” Sighing, John trudges on towards the stairwell. He turns around, noticing Dr. Rolle standing completely still. “Are you coming?”

“Sorry, Johnathon, but I… I do not have clearance to that sector.”

“Dr. Rolle,” John sighs. “It’s okay  _ now _ to go; the guards aren’t here to stop you.”

“I know, but… I do not want to interfere with Dr. Roscoe’s wishes. Perhaps another time… just… not now.” She pulls the duo into a tight hug, clinging onto the backs of their coats. Moving away, Dr. Rolle waves to them and fixes her sleeves. “I bid you farewell… and good luck!” She rushes off into the shadows and debris of the building, disappearing like she was never here.

John lowers his head, turning back to the stairs. He places his foot on the first step, but Cornelia grabs his wrist. “John,” He looks at her, furrowing his eyebrows. “We can’t just leave her.”

Looking out to the spot where she disappeared, he sighs, his glasses falling down to the tip of his nose. “It’s… a bit too late for her. Dr. Rolle… is old and… delusional. It wouldn’t be wise to bring her with us even if she wanted to.”

“If you say so…  _ Johnathon _ .” She replies, saying his full name in a mocking tone. He rolls his eyes, groaning profusely, and continues to climb the stairs. “C’mon, you like your name!”

“ _ No _ , I don’t. That’s why it’s John, not-  _ ugh _ .”

“What’s wrong with your name? Too fancy for ya?”

“It’s- it’s nothing, ok? Let’s just… get to the Greenhouse.”

She scoffs, crossing her arms as she follows him. “Whatever you say, captain.”

They both stand in front of a door, still closed despite every other one being wide open or broken. “The Greenhouse,” Cornelia states, looking at the dull, green sign above the door. “If Lillian’s anywhere, it’s here. She was almost  _ always _ here, right?” John nods. Pursing her lips, she looks to the door, sealed tight, which was made clear by their constant failure to open it. “How are we supposed to get in?” She puts her fist under her chin before looking up to the badge scanner, flashing every five seconds. Her eyebrows furrow as she lets out a low, “Oh,” Reaching into her lab coat, she pulls out her badge, pressing it up in front of the reader. There’s a loud blaring sound, and a red light flashes in front of her. “John,” She gestures to the scanner with her thumb, which signals to John to pull out  _ his _ badge. She swipes the identification in front of the scanner, and it dings, sliding open the door and allowing the two inside. A rush of humid, warm air hits the two, causing Cornelia to shut her eyes and retract her head into her torso. “Oh man, it’s  _ just  _ like Tarzan!” She chuckles a bit but turns to John to see his low and furrowed eyebrows. She takes his hand and pulls him through the door, and into the Greenhouse.


	2. Blooming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The greenhouse is full of secrets,,,

The air in the Greenhouse is humid and uncomfortably warm, with plants overgrown and taking over the walls and machines. Vines as thick as the leg of a table have become the flooring of the area, but some spots were left untouched, shown clearly as John trips over one. He makes an audible groan, looking to what he tripped over. “These vines are ridiculous! How could something as inanimate as _plants_ be so dangerous?”

Cornelia takes a vine in her hand, looking it over and placing it next to her wrist, comparing the width. “Guess the gardener took a day off,” Observing the vine-covered floor, she raises her eyebrows, releasing the vine to its brethren on the ground. She spins around a bit, looking at all the overgrown and mutated plants that now inhabit the Greenhouse. Dimly tinted windows, covered in thick layers of dirt and grime, block their view of the outside world. Even the glass dome of the area is obscured by the cloud of fog. “ _Christ_ , this place really _is_ a jungle,” She gasps over the various flowers that have grown over some of the vines on the machinery. She looks over to John, his face low and full of worry. Biting the inside of her cheek, Cornelia’s eyes shift over the various plants covering the unused machines. “John, you know flowers, right? What kind is this?” She plucks one of the flowers, handing it over to him.

“Hm,” Taking a closer look, he examines all the parts of the flower, and concludes, “eglantine rose.”

“Eglantine… rose?” She looks at the flower from all angles. “Yeah… yeah, I can see it. Looks pretty elegant to me.” John continues to loom over the flower, not breaking his stare for even a second. “John? Are you ok?” she asks, moving it away from his eyes.

He shakes his head, taking the flower and putting it in his lab coat pocket. “It’s nothing, come on, we need to continue,” She pauses before continuing to follow him through the mess of plants.

Running her hand through her hair, she groans, making John look back. “The humidity is ruining my hair.”

“Is that all you’re worried about?” He asks, laughing a bit.

“ _Yeah_ , _of course_ . I don’t think there are any surviving hair products,” She laughs as well, walking right beside him. The two walk silently, Cornelia still observing the plants and _ooh_ ing and _ahh_ ing over the spectacle.

“I still can’t wrap my head around…” He moves his arms in a circular motion. “ _all_ of this. I mean, how could these plants grow _this_ much in the five months that we’ve been frozen? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Maybe these are super plants Lillian planted before all this.”

“No, no, Lillian’s plants were not like _this_ . She planted herbs and flowers, not vines and thorns,” She steps over a large pile of vines that have created a clump. “The radiation couldn’t be _that_ powerful,” He turns to her, furrowing his eyebrows. “could it?”

“I don’t know. The effects of radiation on plants isn’t something I’m _super_ knowledgeable of.”

“Well, what _do_ you know? Is this because of radiation?”

“Um, uh,” She takes another look at the flowers and vines. “No, yeah, no. Radiation doesn’t usually affect plant life. Well, it _could_ have mutated them, but **not** like this. This was the cause of something else.”

“Perhaps a lack of human interference?”

She nods, pointing at him and raising her eyebrows. “Yeah, yeah. You could be right. But radiation could be somewhat of a factor…” As the two explore the Greenhouse and share their theories on the plants, a shadowy figure watches from afar, sprinting off through the bushes of ferns.

Cornelia and John continue to talk, now changing the topic to more personal subjects, walking almost perfectly over the vine-covered floor. Sounds of rustling leaves cause John to stop walking, looking around the immediate area. “What’s wrong?” He hushes her, listening intently for another sound or indication of something else there. More sounds of leaves and bushes emit, growing louder and closer. Frozen in place, the duo watch the large group of oversized ferns and shrubs. “ _John_ ?” she whispers through her teeth. “ _What’s that sound_?”

John, edging towards her and taking her hand, begins leading her further down the clearing. “ _Come on_ ,” As they run through the clearing, they both stay absolutely silent, the only sound coming from the crunching of leaves beneath their feet. The path is a maze, with many twists and turns that sometimes lead to nowhere. Cornelia struggles to keep up, constantly being bombarded by hanging plants and the humidity attacking her lungs, making it harder for her to breathe. Struggling and struggling, she continues to run, until she trips on an unexpected loose vine. She falls, scraping her hand on the rough texture of the vines. Hissing and groaning, she tries to pull her foot out. John stops running and turns around, noticing her on the ground. Rushing over, he slides on the vines, looking over her leg. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Groaning, she pulls her foot out. “I tripped,” She runs her hand over her ankle, hissing as she barely touches it. “ **_Agh_ **, I think I… twisted my ankle.”

“We’ll have to bandage it once we’re out of here. Can you walk?” She attempts to get up and walk, collapsing onto John as the pain strikes her ankle and travels up her spinal cord. Yelping in pain, she tries to hold above the injury. “We have to keep moving, but I cannot bear to watch you struggle.”

“So what are we gonna- Woah!” John picks her up, carrying her in both his arms. She giggles a bit, “Well, _you’re_ strong. When did that happen?”

“Let’s just say my parents were big on keeping me fit. Now, let’s go.” He begins to carry her all the way down the path, not as fast as before, but still fast enough to get through the jungle.

Pushing through leaves at a much slower pace, John continues to carry her, her leg hanging in the air like a tree branch. It seems that the jungle seems to be thinning, with sunlight becoming more prevalent. The two are absolutely silent, John only focusing on the exit. Looking down, Cornelia says, “Thanks. For carrying me.” She brushes hair away from her face, but keeps a chunk of strands over her neck.

“No need to thank me, we _had_ to keep moving.”

“Yeah, I know, but you could’ve just left me there while you searched for help. Or carried me under your arm. Or cut off your pant leg and tied it around my ankle like some corny war movie.”

“Are you uncomfortable with this?” he asks, slowing down his pace.

“No, no,” She holds onto him tighter. “Kinda glad I didn’t have to limp all this way. Now _that_ would be uncomfortable.”

He tries to hide his smile, looking forward again. “I’m glad you’re comfortable,” Squinting, he tries to focus on a bright light in front of them. “Cornelia,” She moves her head to look at him. “can you see what that is? My glasses aren’t as good as they used to be.”

She squints as well, looking long and hard at whatever is ahead of them. Soon a figure begins to walk towards them, taking large strides. “Uh oh.”

“What? What is it?”

“Well, if it were something dangerous, we’d be dead by now,” Holding her hands near her mouth, she yells, “Hey! Who are you!”

“ _Cornelia_!”

“What?” She shrugs. “I’m just asking.” 

He furrows his eyebrows, grumbling under his breath. The figure grows closer and closer, and it walks slowly and big. Once the figure is close enough, it’s clear what it is. “Oh, my God. _Valerian_?”

“Good morning, Dr. Heras,” She sticks her pale white hand out to him. “You’ve been gone a while.”

Sighing, he smiles. “I have been. Five months _is_ a lot of time.”

“ _Months_? Try years,” she states, fixing the folds of her hospital gown.

Both John and Cornelia’s eyes go wide, looking at each other then back at her. “What do you mean ‘years’?” he asks, still holding Cornelia tight. “We’ve only been gone for five months,” his voice quivers as he asks.

She shakes her shaven head, pursing her lips. “ _No_ , I’ve been counting; It’s been two years. Is Lillian coming back soon? She said she’d be back.”

“ _Two years_? So that would make it, what, ‘64?” Valerian nods, cocking her eyebrow. Carefully putting Cornelia on the ground, John begins to panic, sweating up a storm as his glasses slip off his nose. “Valerian, is Lillian here?”

“No,” She points behind her. “she left a long time ago. We’ve been alone since she left.”

“Alright, so we have to- wait, ‘we’? They’re _still_ here?”

“Who’s they?” Cornelia asks, clinging onto John for support.

Pushing through the leaves, Valerian walks out from the jungle without a struggle, while John has trouble with carrying Cornelia under his arm _and_ walking over the vines. The small clearing’s atmosphere is far different from the surrounding jungle’s, like the eye of a tropical storm; the air is dry and cool with only a slight hint of humidity. Flowers bloom all around the area, with grass as well instead of the usual vines, simulating a meadow. John’s eyes go wide, observing the area and the ground. Taking deep breaths, Cornelia’s finally able to properly breathe, and she sighs and closes her eyes. “Up ahead is our home,” Valerian states, still walking ahead of them. As they walk, she asks, “Where’s Lillian? She said she would be back.”

John sighs, looking down. “We don’t know. We woke up and all of a sudden, she was gone.”

“You took a two-year nap?”

“No, we were frozen, in a bunker.” 

She stops walking, staring straight ahead of her, not breaking her stare with the everlasting meadow. “She took you to a bunker?” Before he has a chance to speak, she turns around, staring at him with wide, slowly watering eyes. “She took _you_?”

“Yes? Did she not tell you before the… mess?”

“ _No_ . She left before they dropped. She told me she’d be _right_ back. Why did she take **_you_ **?” Her eyes, wide and low, shift from John to Cornelia.

“We were very close to her, she-”

“ _I_ was close to her too! You think you’re the only two she cared about?” The two look at each other. Valerian grips her head, feeling her vision becoming blurry and disjointed. “She said… that _I_ was… her- her everything!” Tears well up in her eyes and her voice begins to shake.

“Valerian, please calm down,” he pleads, his voice also shaking.

“ **_No_ ** ! It’s _not_ fair! Lillian should’ve taken _me_! I was her daughter!” She stomps her foot, shutting her eyes tight. “I… I,” She collapses onto the floor, head in her lap and loud sobs echoing in the meadow. “She said I was her… world.”

John closes his eyes and walks over to her. Kneeling on the ground beside her, he rests his hand on her shaking back. “Valerian,” he says, his voice soft and hushed. Still hunched over, she doesn’t respond, but her sobbing slowly comes to a stop. “I know it hurts, but… trust me. The bunker… didn’t work. You were safer _here_ than if she took you with us. If you want… you can come with us. We can start over and find Lillian.”

Sniffling, she looks at him. “Promise?”

“Promise,” He extends his hand to her, but she shakes her head and goes in to hug him. Closing his eyes, he hugs her back, resting his head on hers.

Smiling wide, Cornelia looks upon the two. She limps over, putting her hand on John’s shoulder, her smile warm. “Val, do you think you could show us your home now?” she asks, leaning down a bit. Nodding, Valerian stands up, continuing to follow the path. Limping beside John, Cornelia bites the inside of her cheek. “How do you know her?”

“Who? Valerian?” he asks, supporting her under his arm. Cornelia nods, crossing her arms and playing with her sun-shaped necklace. “I don’t think I can really… tell you.”

Cocking her eyebrow, she chuckles. “Seriously? Is it some kinda _spooky_ government secret?”

“Kind of, yes,” She raises her eyebrows, her mouth agape. Sighing, he crosses his arms, fiddling with his watch. “But I guess it doesn’t matter now. Before this whole mess, I ran the Greenhouse, as you might already know. Well, Lillian had a secret experiment set up here and away from the public. This secret was far too dangerous to scientific morals to be shown to the public.”

Blinking a few times, she cocks her eyebrows. “So are you gonna tell me, or are you gonna continue to stall?”

“I’m not stalling.”

“Yeah, you are. Just tell me what was _so_ secret.”

He huffs, looking away. “In the lab, we created plant-human hybrids. There. Said and done,” He peeks at her, expecting shock, but her expression is still in confusion. “You wanted to know, so there. We spliced human DNA with plant DNA.”

“Yeah, no, I heard it. I’m just… _that_ was the big secret? I expected, I don’t know, maybe superhumans?”  
“Superhumans? Where on Earth did that come from?”

Shrugging, she raises her eyebrows. “I don’t know. Just imagining these big, green guys that are _just_ muscle. You know? It _sounds_ like a good government conspiracy,” He shakes his head, his eyebrows furrowed and low. She gently punches his arm, and he rubs it while looking away. “Admit it, it sounds cool,” He bobs his head a little, laughing quietly.

Valerian calls out, “We’re here,” Pushing aside a multitude of large leaves reveals a child-shaped figure, with their back turned to the duo. The child turns around, their hospital gown dragging on the grimy ground.

They gasp, putting their hands on the ground in front of them. “John! John! Vally!” They yell, running towards the two, their incredibly big hair bouncing as she rushes at them. Suddenly, a hand grabs her arm, pulling her behind the new figure. The new, taller figure charges a gun, a ball of light forming at the end.

“State your name and purpose,” they say in a monotone voice, pointing the end of the gun to Cornelia and John, which causes John to stand in front of his friend. “You are trespassing on government property.”

The small child stands in front of Cornelia and John, waving her arms in the air as her big hair bounces with her movements. “Ele! No! They’re friends!”

Lowering the gun, Ele stands straight, arms behind her back. “Apologies, Subject 8114. Standing down,” The small child runs back and clings onto Ele’s leg, peeking out and smiling to the duo.

John shuffles through his pant pockets, pulling out an id with all his personal information plastered on. “Dr. John Heras. I have access to this sector,” he states, his voice stern and low. “State your unit identification!”

Ele closes her mechanical eyes, narrowing them down and looking just at John. “Android unit 5125, Dr. Heras.”

“I should probably address the big elephant in the room, but how are _you_ here?” Cornelia speaks up, pushing him a bit behind her. “All units were put into immediate shutdown when…” She looks to the little girl, who stares up at her with large, round eyes. “when you know what happened.”

“Any and all units found outside their station were put into shutdown. I never left my station, Dr. Saae-Lim.”

“So you just kinda stayed put? Huh,” Cornelia raises her eyebrows. “ _at least one of them had some common sense_ -”

“It was not common sense,” Cornelia jumps back a bit when Ele moves closer. “My programming is to protect Subject 8114 and that is what I did.”

John cocks his eyebrow, stepping closer to the android. “Your _programming_ was to protect the scientists.”

“Yes,” She stands completely still. Moving his hands in a circular motion, he narrows his eyes and purses his lips. Ele groans. “I was supposed to protect the scientists if an immediate threat were to arise. I saw how they treated Subject 8114 during the time of crisis. I acted accordingly.”

“So you’ve been taking care of her this _entire_ time?” he asks, looking up as his glasses fall to the tip of his nose.

“That is correct.”

John sighs, stepping closer and lowering his body. “We’ll have to get her out of this environment quickly; she’s not safe here,” Ele grabs his arm tight as he attempts to reach for the small child. “Let me go, Unit 5125. That’s an order,” Ele’s grip grows tighter and his hand begins to twitch. “I **command** you to-”

She throws him across the ground, his coat ripping up slightly from the various thorns present on the vines. He groans in pain, grabbing his arm and looking at the bright red blood present. Cornelia gasps, limping over to him. “You command **no one** ,” her voice booms, echoing off the walls. Looming over the two, Ele narrows her eyes. “As long as Dr. Roscoe is not present, you are **not** in charge,” She charges her pistol again, pointing it towards them.

Before Ele steps any further, the small child clings to her leg, pulling her back as hard as she can. “Ele! No! No hurt!” Ele stops in her tracks, looking down at the child with glass eyes. “Rule: No hurting. Mama said so!” Glancing to and from the small child, Ele rolls her eyes and holsters the gun. The child nods and stands up, her hospital gown crumpled and covered in dirt and dust. “This is Ele! Not Unit blah blah.” She turns to Ele, pursing her lips. “Ele, **no** hurting new friend!” she exclaims, pointing at Cornelia

Cornelia laughs under her breath. “And what’s _your_ name, lil one?” she asks, a wide smile on her face.

The girl pauses, shrugs, and pulls out two small daisies from a growing bush connected to her chest. “I no remember,” Walking over to John, she places one of them on his shoulder where the cut is. Slowly, the cut fades to nothing as his skin heals. He mutters to himself, feeling around for the flower and/or the cut. She also places one on Cornelia’s ankle, and the swelling diminishes to a slight bruise.

“Right…” John mutters, his hand still on his shoulder.

She holds up both her index fingers, moving them into an X shape. “No hurting.”

“So you can heal?” Cornelia asks, feeling her once throbbing ankle. She tries to stand, but almost falls over again. “ _Somewhat_.”

“I can fix hurting on… outside, but…” Tears well up in her eyes and she shuts her eyes.

“No, no! It’s ok!” Cornelia waves her hands rapidly, lowering her eyebrows. “It’s ok. It doesn’t hurt! There was just something on the ground, you helped!” 8114 wipes her eyes, smiling small.

“Sister can help hurting on the inside.”

The duo look at each other. Cornelia asks in a honeyed voice, “Valerian?”

“Yes!” 8114 jumps up and down, smiling wide. “Vally! Vally! She is here, she can fix…” The four of them look around, but Valerian is nowhere to be seen, all that’s left are a few flowers where she stood. Her face lowers, and 8114 walks over and scoops up the flowers, handing one to John and Cornelia. “These fix the hurt.”

Sighing, John closes his eyes and shoves the flower into his mouth. The stinging, throbbing pain in his shoulder fades to nothing, as well as Cornelia’s pain in her ankle. “That actually worked?” She feels around her ankle, the only pain coming from the very slight bruise that has yet to form. “John,” She looks at him, tilting her head. “Do flowers actually do this?” He shrugs, raising his eyebrows. “Oh come on, you have a PhD in botany! You’ve _gotta_ know.”

“Perhaps they do. During the testing trials of the hybrids, Valerian’s flowers were found to heal… internal wounds, such as radiation or a headache.”

“Well that explains Valerian… I think, but what about _her_?” Nodding to the little girl, who is now spinning around and looking at the glass dome that shields them from the sky.

“8114?”

“She has a name, right? Saying 8114 over and over again is gonna get tiring.”

John spots a small, shriveled daisy laying on the ground, picking it up he also looks to 8114. “Daisy.”

“Daisy?” Cornelia furrows her eyebrows, hunching over. “ _Her name’s Daisy_?” She whispers, her hands combing through her hair.

Nodding his head, he bites the inside of his mouth. “Of course! Do you think I spent six years in a lab with her and didn’t bother to give her a name?” He slowly stands, brushing off his pant legs and cracking his back. “If we’re using naming conventions like the others, then _Daisy_ is her name.”

“Kinda fitting, you know, with her whole… cheery thing she’s got going on.” Cornelia notices Daisy clinging to her leg, looking up with sparkles in her eyes. “Yeah, kiddo?” Daisy proceeds to tug on Cornelia’s skirt, feeling the poplin run over her fingers. She soon begins to rub her cheek against it as well. Cornelia bends down, ruffling the girl’s hair. “Liking my skirt?”

“The m-materii…”

“Material?” She says slowly.

Daisy nods, looking up and pursing her lips. “Like Mama’s!”

John watches Daisy examining Cornelia’s outfit, but Ele catches his eye. She glares at him, her gaze unbreaking, which causes John to start sweating. “ _Is there something the matter, Unit 5125_ ?” He whispers, barely peeking up from his glasses. The android snaps her neck down to observe Daisy, but the tension in the room still lingers. “ _Alright_.” John lowers to Daisy’s level, holding his hand out to her, and she takes it. “Daisy, sweetie. Do you know where Lillian is?” There’s a long pause as Daisy looks back to Ele, who simply blinks her robotic eyes to her. “You’re not in trouble, we just want to know.” Daisy shakes her head, tears forming fast in her eyes. “No, no, don’t cry.” She jumps at him, pulling him into a surprisingly tight hug. Looking back to Cornelia, John furrows his eyebrows, looking the most confused that anyone could.

She shakes her head, crossing her arms. “ _Hug her back_ , _you dork_.” He hugs her, patting her back slowly and gently.

“Mama… coming back?”

John peeks back to Cornelia, his eyes wide. Sighing, Cornelia attempts to sit down, a tiny pain still present in her ankle. “Lillian- Mama, won’t be back for a while. Daisy,” The small child looks up, her eyes red and tears still pouring out. “We’re going to find her. Do you want to come with us? We could use the cheerfulness.” Daisy glances to the ground, sniffling up a storm. Looking up, she nods rapidly, a small smile on her face. 

Ele places her hand on her shoulder. “I am going as well.” John adjusts his glasses, Cornelia blinks and tilts her head, and Daisy smiles wide. “It… is my programming to protect Subject 8114. I go wherever she goes.”

Shrugging, Cornelia nods. “Can’t go wrong with programming. John,” She looks over to him still feeling his arm for the wound. “are you okay with Ele coming with us? We could use the strength.” Looking at Ele’s unmoving face and Cornelia’s unconcerned look, he sighs, nodding with his eyebrows furrowed. “Let’s get moving then. We don’t have all day.” Pursing his lips, John nods, keeping his focus on the jungle behind him. “Hope you like being a part of the team, angel!”

“Team! Team!” Daisy dances around, giggling up a storm, her tears drying up in an instant.

“Is there anything you wanna bring with you?” Daisy stops her dance and looks around. Walking away, she disappears into the bushes. Cornelia looks to John with a cocked eyebrow, mouthing confusion to him. When she returns, she has a small doll that seems to be falling apart. She holds it up, a small frown on her face. “Oh, no. Here, may I?” Daisy nods, slowly handing her the ripped up doll. Cornelia, making sure she doesn’t rip it more, begins to examine the doll’s stitching on the side of the head. She holds it up to John, pointing to the line of stitches falling apart. “Look at this. The seam’s too close to the edge.” 

“What… does that mean?”

“The doll’s falling apart,” She plops onto the ground, crossing her legs over. Shuffling around in her lab coat’s pocket, she pulls out a needle. She spots a loose string from her sweater sleeve and pulls it out a bit, before cutting it off with her teeth. She carefully rips the doll’s poor sewing out, placing the ruined string onto the ground. Threading the needle, she begins restitching the head together, sewing in a rhythmic manner. John watches in awe, mesmerized by the way she pierces the fabric with ease. When she finishes, she hands the doll to Daisy, smiling wide. Daisy giggles, hugging the doll tight to her torso. John smiles too, and by looking at Cornelia, he can feel warmth in his cheeks, quickly looking away and covering his mouth. “Ready, Daisy?” She nods. “Ele?” Ele rolls her robotic eyes. “John?” He nods, still looking away. Standing up and brushing off her skirt, Cornelia looks back to the mass of plants and vines. “Let’s head out then!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! my child daisy!!! fun fact: Daisy is my first character ever! I made her originally,,, I think almost 6 years ago :O


	3. Arriving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened after all this time?

As the four walk through the desolate ruins of the facility, dust blows all around, obscuring the area beyond the labs. John walks right beside Cornelia in the back of the group, constantly stealing glances with her. Cornelia notices, to John’s misery, and she chuckles. “What’s with the glances, John? _Like what you see_?” she kids, placing her hands on her hips and winking.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Cornelia. I’m just trying to make sure you’re alright.”

“No need to worry your lil’ head, John,” She reaches up and ruffles his hair, which causes him to scrunch up his nose. “I can handle myself,” Peeking up at his face, she notices his low expression, and she slowly places her hand on his arm. “but I always appreciate having a big guy like you ‘protecting’ me,” She chuckles, lightly punching his shoulder.

While John and Cornelia continue to talk, Daisy waddles happily alongside Ele, holding her doll close. Ele keeps her head forward, as if her neck is glued in place, but she frequently glances down to the small child she vowed to protect. “Ele!” Daisy calls, making Ele quickly look down, her arms unnaturally behind her back. “Do you like John and Cor-cor…” she struggles to say Cornelia’s name, and instead says, “Coco?”

“I have no thoughts about either of them.”

Daisy, oblivious to the actual meaning of what Ele said, giggles, kicking around a rock. “I think they nice! I like John’s… um, uh,” She places her hands around her eyes like his little spectacles, and Ele sighs. 

“Glasses,” Ele states, her head unmoving again.

“Yeah!” Daisy reaches for Ele’s hand and holds it tight, smiling wide. Ele, with a bewildered expression, looks down, thinking Daisy might be hurt. But when she sees the smile, she relaxes and goes back to keeping her head facing forward. “Coco’s skirt is pretty too! Very…”

“Yellow.”

“Yellow! Nice color!”

The outside of the facility isn’t any better than the inside; debris and ruins line the streets. Faint sounds of a radio in the distance show the four a little semblance of humanity left. “Christ almighty,” John gasps, staring out to the ruins. “is this… all that is left?”

Coco shifts her weight from one leg to another. Struggling to breathe, Coco feels her throat slightly close up. “Oh… God, I… wouldn’t be surprised,” Sighing, she grips her hair incredibly tight. “Nukes are hell,” Daisy tucks her head into her torso, keeping her eyes away from the debris. “We… should keep going,” The four walk through the ruins, John and Coco looking at their once home now destroyed. John lowers his head, taking his glasses off and wiping his eyes. Coco, keeping her eyes down, sighs, covering her neck with her hand. “All this damage… I-I can’t believe it.”

“Our families…” He covers his mouth, closing his eyes. “Do you… think they made it to shelter?” He stifles a sob, taking off his glasses again and holding them by the hinges. Coco stands next to him, keeping her head low. Placing her arm on his shoulder, the two take a moment to memorialize and grieve for their relatives.

Daisy stands close to Ele, still holding her hand, but tighter now. “Ele?” Her robotic eyes glance down. “Can we… fix their families?”

Looking back to the two, Ele closes her eyes. She doesn’t speak; Ele watches as the two continue to talk with strained voices about the horrid possibilities. Daisy releases her grasp and walks over to John and Coco. The duo are now sitting down, staying completely silent as they stare out to the wasteland. Daisy, not knowing what to do, tries to hug both of them from behind, which makes the two sob. Ele stares from afar, and despite her programming, she begins to walk towards them. Placing her hand on John’s shoulder, she closes her eyes. “We must distract your minds from the pain,” She points far away to a small shopping center, keeping her grip on John’s shoulder loose. “Shopping centers are a good place for distractions,” She looks right at his face, her eyes unmoving. “It is not good for humans to sit around and cry.”

Wiping his eyes, John smiles. “You’re… right, Uni- Ele. _Abuela_ Torres would not allow me to wallow,” He slides his glasses back on, taking deep breaths as he struggles to stand. Thinking for a little bit, he comes to a comforting conclusion. “There… was a shelter here, right?” He looks at Cornelia with reddened eyes.

Smiling, Coco stands up, brushing off her skirt. “Yeah, near Franklin Square. There was an alarm and everything, so they’re probably safe.” Glancing up, Coco tries to find the sun hidden among the silver clouds. “Maybe some vitamin-D will help us,” Coco reaches down and helps John up, keeping her hand around his wrist for a little while after he stands. The four pass by the dust-filled streets and dead-empty shops as the wind howls in their ears.

The obliterated shopping-mall stands before them, broken glass standing in the way of the entrance. Daisy attempts to walk in, but the others grab her and pull her back. Ele pulls her away from the scientists, and holds her tight in her arms. Daisy smiles wide and climbs onto her shoulders, wrapping her arms around Ele’s neck. Ele, ignoring John’s objections, walks into the shopping-mall, breaking the glass underneath her further. John groans, trying to tip-toe around all the glass on the ground. Chuckling, Coco simply walks around the entire pile of glass, showing John the easy route she created herself. He frowns and lowers his heels, making Coco laugh harder.

Inside the shopping-mall, faint and static-filled music plays somewhere distant. Store windows are busted open, with missing items that used to be on the shelves. Similar to the Greenhouse, vines stretch over the machinery, such as the escalator or the helper robots that now sit dormant. Pansies bloom in the small patches of sunlight that beam down from the holes in the ceiling. A large fountain sits in the middle of the room, still water left in the base with mold growing on top. Daisy and Ele walk a little away, Daisy giggling and holding onto Ele’s hand tightly. Strolling towards the small bushes of flowers, Coco investigates the plants, noticing the vibrant colors that remind her of home. Plucking one, she hums to herself as she spins the petals by the stem.

John, looking over to a broken store window, examines his face, grabbing the attention of Coco. “What are you doing over here?” she asks, swooping her arms behind her back.

John narrows his eyes, tracing the laugh line from his nose to the corner of his mouth. “Do I look old to you?”

“Do you want my _honest_ answer?” He furrows his eyebrows and looks at her from the glass. Chuckling, Coco stands next to him, placing the flower in between his glasses and head. “No, you don’t look _too_ old,” He sighs, wiping the bags under his eyes. She pats his back softly, humming a small tune under her breath. “You’re in your mid-thirties, John, you’re _gonna_ look old.”

“I know,” He continues to look at himself in the glass, noticing the fact that his right arm isn’t present in the reflection, as the glass that _should_ be there is now scattered on the ground. “I just… don’t like looking or _being_ so old.”

Coco avoids looking at her reflection, turning away a little. “Who actually _enjoys_ being old? It **sucks** ,” Putting her hand on his shoulder, she closes her eyes. “Be glad you’re not little like Daisy, or else you’d have to be carried everywhere like a baby.”

“I would actually like that, to be completely honest,” He lets out a slight chuckle, which Coco responds with a slight shake of his body. Before the two try to continue the conversation, Daisy and Ele return, Ele’s arms full of different kinds of toys from dolls to race cars. “Where did you two go?” he asks, slipping the pansy into his shirt pocket.

“Toy store!” Daisy points to all the toys, yelling out the gibberish names she gave them all.

John leans to Coco, whispering, “ _Should we let her keep them_?”

Shrugging, Coco looks back at the mountain of toys. “ _I mean, how are we gonna carry all of that_ … Daisy, sweetie,” Bending down to her level, she grabs the small child’s attention. “How about we pick out three,” She holds up three fingers with a large smile. “toys, okay?” Frowning, Daisy shrinks down, but nods rapidly. She turns to Ele and points back to the store, and the two walk back, Ele muttering as she makes her way.

“ _Wow_. How did you do that?”

Standing up, she wipes away the grime on her hands. “I grew up with five younger brothers and a younger sister, somebody had to step in when mom wasn’t around.”

John’s eyes widen, his eyebrows flying up. “Oh, yes! I remember. How _did_ you survive all of that?” He slides his hands into his pockets, shifting from one leg to another.

“Eh,” Coco snickers, combing through her hair. “Wasn’t too bad. I had a friend help me when things got bad.”

“What about your mother?” Sighing, Coco’s eyebrows furrow and she looks away. “Oh. Do… you want to talk about it?” She shakes her head. Suddenly, Daisy waves, running towards the two with Ele close behind. Ele now only has three items in her arms such as: a stuffed wolf, a toy mouse, and a wooden rabbit. “What do you have there?” John asks, chortling at the sight of the small girl’s large smile. She grabs the wolf and hands it to John, which he laughs at. “Aw, thank you, Daisy,” He glances over to see Coco nearly tearing up and hugging the mouse close. “I take it you like mice?”

“Of _course_ ! Their little heads, their lil’ tails, just _everything_ about them!”

Chuckling, John starts to hug his wolf toy. “ _That_ is the scientist in you, Dr. Saae-Lim.”

“It probably is,” She laughs, kissing the top of the mouse’s head. John looks back over to his toy, a slight blush on his face. “You got a wolf? _Pretty serious_.”

“Wolves are one of Earth’s most elegant creatures,” Coco cocks her eyebrow, stifling a laugh. “Okay, dogs are… sort of nice.”

“Gotcha,” The two notice Ele holding the rabbit toy, slowly spinning the little wheels on the bottom of it.

Stopping what she’s doing, Ele looks up, a large scowl on her face. “What?”

The duo stare away from the robot’s examination of the wheels, and she goes back to what she was doing. Coco then sees that Daisy is left empty-handed. “Daisy?” She perks up, a small smile on her face as she fiddles with her thumbs. “Didn’t _you_ want something?”

Thinking for a bit, Daisy shakes her head, holding up her falling apart doll. “I have-” She blows a raspberry, which might mean that _that_ is the doll’s name. “I wanted to find… um… gifts!”

Coco almost tears up, smiling wide. John gives out a hearty laugh and ruffles Daisy’s hair, making Ele move a bit closer. “Thank you, Daisy, we appreciate it,” he says, still holding the wolf close to him. “We should look for supplies. There’s bound to be _something_ here.”

“Like a flower?” Daisy asks, hopping up and down to get Ele to carry her.

Pausing, John raises his eyebrows. “... Yes, like a flower.” Putting his hands on his hips, he surveys the area, only seeing empty stores and broken machines. “We should split up, we’ll cover more ground.”

“That is a plan, Dr. Heras.”

“Thank you-”

“I did not say a good plan,” He lowers his body, furrowing his eyebrows and pursing his lips. “I will go with Subject 8114”

Turning around, John holds his hand up. “Slow down there. I think we need to switch partners for this.”

Narrowing her eyes, Ele leans closer. “ **_Why_ **?”

“I…” He tries to avoid eye contact. “just feel like we need to get to know each other better. You obviously know Daisy, and I know Cornelia-”

“Coco!” John cocks an eyebrow, and Coco whispers the new nickname, chuckling under her breath.

“-I know Coco. If we split up and spend some time with each other, we will work better as a team.”

Ele puts Daisy down, placing both her arms behind her back. Moving over to Coco, she nods, and Coco nods in return. “We will meet here once we finish the expedition.”

John agrees, and the two girls walk off to the rest of the first floor. Left with Daisy, he turns to the broken-down escalator. “So, Daisy,” She looks up from the floor, dirt already all over her face. “Are you ready?” Nodding fast, she begins to run towards the stairs, but John pulls her back a bit. “Let’s go _together_ , okay?”

They begin to climb the escalator, but Daisy lags behind, huffing and puffing. “Are you okay?” He notes the heavy breathing and closes his eyes, chuckling under his breath.

At the top of the escalator, John slowly puts Daisy down onto the broken tiling of the mall’s floor. “There we go,” She just lays on her stomach, mumbling into the tiles. Quietly laughing, John picks her up from her torso and puts her down on her feet. He tries to walk, but is stopped when Daisy grabs his hand tight. Looking down and back up, John chuckles and continues to walk.

The first store they visit is a small department store, with a large faded sign that says ‘Patriot’s’ in big, bold letters. The windows are boarded up with moss-covered wood. He groans, fixing his glasses, as Daisy tries to say the word. “Pay-paytree…”

“ _Patriot_ ,” He says slowly for her to understand.

“Pa-patriot?” He nods, smiling. “Patriot! What is that?”

Closing his eyes, he sighs, “It’s a person who believes that this country is the _absolutely best country in the entire world_.”

“Is it?”

Chuckling, he gently tugs her towards the store. “Not as much as most people think.”

The inside is almost as destroyed as the exterior, with shelves knocked over and various items strewn about. A rancid scent fills the air, making John scrunch up his nose in disgust. Large fluorescent lights flicker, many of them dim or broken. Large, faded posters of an older man decorate the walls, with the slogan ‘It’s right to vote Wright’ obnoxiously placed on them. The song from the distant radio is now more clear, playing a soft tune over and over again on a clear loop. For a department store, the interior is lacking; the inside is far smaller than anticipated. 

John walks over to the clothing side of the store, examining the fabric of one of the bright purple dresses. Rubbing the smooth, cotton fabric between his fingers, a tight feeling in his heart appears, and he immediately stops. Daisy pops out from under a long ball gown, smiling wide as normal. Running around the clothing section, Daisy trips over a small pile of shoes, which startles John. She picks one up, showing John the pointed toe, but he focuses on the flaking paint and broken heel. She rummages through the shoes, picking each one up and showing it off before putting it back into the pile. Her scavenging is interrupted by her noticing John’s absence. Hopping up, she rushes over to the scientist, who is now investigating the children’s section.

He searches the empty racks for something, groaning each time he doesn’t find what he wants. Daisy hops over, looking around his legs to see the emerging pile of clothing. Taking a quick glance, she sees his tired face, and springs to action. She takes a flower from her chest and hands it to him, but he doesn’t accept it, continuing his search. Daisy, sinking down into her torso, comes up with a better plan. Quietly, she sneaks the flower into his pocket. John perks up when he spots something on the shelf, pulling it out carefully. He shows it off to Daisy; he holds a faded yellow sweater with separate fabric pieces by the sleeves in front of her. She beams, reaching for it with eagerness. Once it touches her fingertips, she pulls it into a tight hug, spinning around and giggling. “Do you like it? I figured it would get cold soon,” He also pulls out a dirty satchel, slinging it over his arm.

“Yes! Yes!” she exclaims, trying to put it on. Her arms hang out from the holes in the sleeves, but she doesn’t mind; she nuzzles her face into the collar.

He tries to take it back for a moment, but decides against it, putting both his hands on his hips. “We’ll have Coco sew it together later, okay? It’ll be even better than it already is,” His eyes drift to the green splotches on her face and arms, noticing the slightly fading color. “but we should go and find some supplies.”

“Supplies?” She asks, looking up from the soft wool sweater. “What’s that?”

“It’s stuff we need to live; food, water, shelter.”

“Oh, I no need a lot of food.” She points to the various splotches on her body. “Mama said that these make food for me.”

Sighing, John takes her by the hand farther into the store. “Well, while mama _is_ right, you still need water,” He points to himself and to her. “It’s the human in us.” A large vending machine greets them, with the brand name ‘Zeppy’s Cola’ plastered all over it. Daisy points to it, looking up at John, but he shakes his head. “Not that. _That_ is not water; it’s more like poison,” Daisy spits at the machine, continuing to follow John through the vacant store.

Exiting out the entrance they initially came from, John searches the area, but spots nothing of interest. He puts his hand in his pocket and feels something. Pulling it out, he sees that it’s one of Daisy’s flowers, but all crumpled up and slowly becoming dust. Before he can ask, Daisy yells, “Look!” She tugs at his arm, pointing to a store in front of them. John looks up from the shriveled flower to see a candy store. “Maybe water is there!”

“I doubt it; candy stores aren’t the-” He looks down to see Daisy gone, now running towards the store. He sighs and rushes after her.

The candy store’s bright mint outside doesn’t reflect the dingy inside. The lights are horribly dim, making it hard for John to search for the small child. He feels around, placing his hand on every surface to discern each and every object. “ _Daisy_!” he yells through his teeth, shuffling around boxes and shelves of sugary sweets, their bright colors not tempting him in the slightest. He spots a silhouette behind a table, and he grunts as he walks over there. “Daisy, we have to go-” He turns the figure around, only to find a skeleton staring at him. Screaming, he falls backward, pushing over a table. Sweets tumble on top of him, knocking his glasses off the bridge of his nose and onto the tip. Glaring over to his left, he sees Daisy standing over him. She has another flower in her hand and a lollipop in the other.

John, struggling to stand, refuses the flower. As he adjusts his glasses, he spots a small crate in the back. Moving the various boxes and jars, he opens the crate to find a few bottles of pure water. Picking one after the other, he slides them into the satchel, Daisy watching closely. “Water?” He nods, smiling a little, which makes Daisy smile too.

The light outside is bright and shows off the similarity of John and Daisy’s terracotta-like skin tone. John thinks about all the flowers Daisy tried giving him during their expedition on the second floor. “Daisy,” She looks up from her lollipop, her eyes gleaming. “why did you give me so many flowers?”

Tightening her grip on his hand, she looks him in the eyes. “You hurt. Your family is gone. I wanna help,” She puts the lollipop back into her mouth, pulling it out and making a _pop_.

“Oh,” His eyes drift around, observing all the fake plants that are strewn about, their pots tipped over with imitation dirt spread all over. He scoffs at the plastic leaves, tilting his nose at him.

“Do you like plants? Ele said you like plants.”

“Well, I’m a botanist; I study plants for a job.”

“What kind?” She kicks up some dust on the ground, leaving the lollipop in her mouth.

Placing his free hand under his chin, he tries thinking of some of the plants he studied. Chuckling, he grabs the satchel again. “I’m not sure. I worked on making you, actually.”

“Really!?” Stars shine in Daisy’s eyes, her smile incredibly wide, and the lollipop falls out of her mouth.

“Really! I studied daisies and used them to make you,” He lightly taps Daisy’s nose, making her giggle.

“Mama helped you, right?” John’s smile disappears, and his breathing speeds up. “John?” He shakes his head fast, staring straight ahead and his breathing slowing down back to normal. His head still throbs, but he doesn’t mention it. “Where are Coco and Ele?”

He fixes his glasses, keeping his eyes fixed on the stores in front of them. “I’m not sure. They’re… on the first floor, that’s all I know.” Daisy nods, tightening her grip on John’s hand again.

* * *

Sounds of pounding against a door echo through the store’s interior. Soon, the door bursts open, and Coco falls on top of it. She howls with laughter, brushing dirt off her shoulders. Ele steps over her, examining the store. “No sign of danger.”

“Well,” Coco stands up, coughing up dust. “ain’t that swell, am I right?”

“Yes. That is ‘swell,’ Dr. Saee-Lim.”

Rolling her eyes, Coco laughs under her breath. She wanders around the dollar store, examining the shelves full of expired cans of corn, grimey snack foods, and piles of cheap clothing. She takes a TV-dinner meal from the freezer, looking over the soggy box and scrunching up her face. Leaning back, she looks down the row of freezers full of cheap and horrid TV-Dinners. “ _Groovy_ ,” She snarks, laughing at her own use of the word as she tosses the box onto the ground.

The shelves are also filled with tasteless quick food like the following: ‘Commie Blasters,’ a cereal with rocket-shaped marshmallows composed of almost seventy-five percent sugar; ‘Mellow Jell-O,’ a Jell-O mix in the shape of a star and smile; And generic brand tomato aspic, with chunks of other vegetables. All of the items make Coco gag, and she moves away from the shelf. “Those are food items, are they not?” Ele asks, observing the food as well.

“If you could even consider that _food_ . It’s just a bunch of junk,” Walking up and down the aisles, trying to find something proper to eat. “ _Come on_ , there’s gotta be _something_ here.”

“Perhaps your privileged eating habits are clouding your perception, Dr. Saae-Lim.” Coco turns to face her, furrowing her eyebrows. “Just a thought,” she states, shrugging.

“I’m just tryna find something that won’t kill us,” Ele rolls her eyes, following Coco close. The two find themselves in a soup aisle, with rows and rows of various canned soups and broths surrounding them. Raising her eyebrows, she glances only at Ele’s unmoving face. “Think you can carry some of this?” She nods, standing completely still as Coco scurries around and grabs a couple of cans. She drops some off with Ele, rushing back over to the shelves to grab more. Ele, her arms now full of cans, takes a quick peek up to see flickering lights and the dead bugs hiding inside. The scientist puts her hands on her hips, hopping from aisle to aisle, snatching any non-perishable food that she can find, and throwing them into the pile.

“Dr. Saae-Lim,” Ele leans her head around the side of the pile in her arms. “is this all necessary? You know Subject 8114 and I do not eat.”

She turns around, her skirt spinning with her. “Well, John and I are _humans_ ; we need food,” She perks up, reaching up to grab a box of pasta, and looking around the box. Slowly placing the box into the pile, Coco furrows her eyebrows.

“Is there something wrong, Dr. Saae-Lim?”

“Kinda,” She gestures to the pile. “We need to put all of this into something, like a bag. I just feel bad for your arms; aren’t they tired?”

Coco begins to exit, Ele following close, and the pile unmoving in her arms. “My arms have an endoskeleton made from stainless steel; they do not get tired,” Approaching a blocked off clothing store, Coco tries to find a way inside, tapping each box in the tower. She finds a loose one and pushes it slowly, revealing a hole. Going down onto her hands and knees, Coco crawls into the store, laughing under her breath as dust flies into her mouth.

John waves to Ele, getting her attention. Daisy hops up next to him, awing at the large pile of food. When they reach the robot, John looks around. “Where’s Cornelia?”

Ele points to the hole, Coco’s upper-body emerges, holding up a large bag with a smile on her face. John chuckles, covering his mouth and looking away. “I got it! Here,” She throws it at Ele, but she just watches as the bag lands on the ground. “put the food in-” She struggles to get out of the hole. Grunting, she throws her hands up. “A lil’ help here?” John and Daisy take her arms and try to pull her out, struggling hard. Ele, sighing, places the pile on the ground. Pushing the other two aside, she cracks her ‘knuckles,’ and swiftly pulls Coco out. But Ele did not think about her modified strength, and Coco flies halfway across the room, landing right beside the fountain.

“Cornelia!” John runs over, sliding onto the floor next to her. Slowly reaching for her, he tries to make sure she’s okay. “Are you okay?” He turns her over, her face vacant of emotion. His face twists as he feels for her pulse, not sure if the throw was strong enough to knock her out. “Cornelia?” Before he puts his fingers near her neck, she springs up, yelling and laughing right in John’s face. He plummets back, screaming. Breathing heavily, John furrows his eyebrows and supports himself with his arms.

“Oh, oh! You should’ve seen your _face_!” She continues to laugh, grabbing her stomach.

“ **_Why_ ** did you do that?!” he asks, still huffing. Blushing appears quickly on his twisted face.

Shrugging, Coco’s laughter gradually comes to a stop. “Just trying to have fun!” Standing up, she pats his fluffed-up hair. Leaning down to him, she chuckles. “Sorry,” She ruffles his hair again, passing by him and walking towards Ele and Daisy. He watches her walk away, shaking his head and fixing his glasses, and feeling his cheeks warm up again.

He looks up to see the sun setting in the glass ceiling. Rising up, he brushes off his rear-end, glancing over to the others. Coco is busy shoving the food into the large bag, Daisy hopping all around to see the different kinds. “I don’t mean to… ruin the fun, but we should really get going,” He points to the ceiling, which makes the others look up as well. “ _I_ would also _prefer_ not being caught by a band of raiders in a mall.”

Coco agrees, walking towards the exit. Ele follows too, swinging the bag over her shoulders like John with the water bottles. Daisy hops up to John, grabbing his hand with her own and smiling a toothy grin. Right before the exit, Coco waves at the two, making John smile small. “I like Coco! She’s really funny.” She giggles, still holding the sweater tight to her body.

“Yeah… I like her too,” The duo make their way to the other two, making some conversation about whatever came to Daisy’s mind. Echoes of footsteps come from seemingly nowhere deep within the mall as the lights begin to fade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my babies :'((((( don't worry, things get better,,, kinda


	4. Studying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Panic attack
> 
> A library? How curious.

Walking down the streets of Baltimore city fills John with immense anxiety. He tightens his grip on Daisy’s hand, which she notices. She tries thinking of something to talk about, coming up with the topic of, “Do you like dogs?”

“Dogs? Sort of,” He wipes small tears from his eyes. “I mean… I like dogs, but I prefer ferrets.”

“F-ferrets?” Her eyes widen and she sinks into her torso.

“Oh, right,” He thinks of a way to describe the small animals. “Do you remember the noodles I would bring into the Greenhouse during lunch?” Nodding, she listens carefully with her eyebrows raised. “Ferrets are like that, but with fur,” Daisy looks to the ground, and shivers, thinking of a horrid creature in her mind. Sighing, John shakes his head. “I wish you could meet Ani, he was the sweetest thing. Sometimes, he would crawl onto my shoulder and lay around my neck like a feather boa,” Daisy wants to listen, but she cocks her eyebrow, trying so hard to figure out what he’s talking about. She now pictures the horror from before around his neck, and she screams internally.

Coco laughs from a bit ahead, combing through her hair. Ele looks straight in front of her, not thinking about really anything. Coco picks up on Ele’s silence, and elbows her. “Earth to Ele, everything alright?”

“Yes. Everything is optimal, Dr. Saae-Lim.”

“Coco,” Ele glares down, tilting her head. “Just call me Coco, Daisy already does, you might as well.”

Shifting her eyes back to the front, Ele states in a cold tone, “Everything is optimal, _Coco_.”

Stifling a chuckle, Coco places her hand on Ele’s shoulder. “That’s better, pal.”

As the four walk, Daisy takes notice of the stars in the sky, their patterns and glow gaining her complete attention. She rapidly taps John’s arm, pointing to the sky. He watches them spin as they walk, and his eyes glimmer like the stars above. “ _Coco_!” She whispers, getting Coco and Ele’s attention. “Up! Lights!” They both look up, Coco with a smile and Ele with her normal stoic look. “So pretty!”

John laughs, covering his mouth. “Those are _stars_ , Daisy.”

“Stars? What’s that?”

“They’re little balls of gas that are constantly growing. Right, Cornelia?”

Coco shrugs, raising her eyebrows. “Not sure; we’re not astrologists.”

Daisy tilts her head, pursing her lips. Looking up to John, she asks, “What is that?”

“What? Astrologists?” She nods. “They’re scientists, like me and Coco, but they study space. Truly amazing work they do. Before the… incident, they promised us that we would be the first humans on the moon.”

“Wish it actually happened,” Chuckling, Coco puts her hands on her hips, looking back up to the sky. “Still, it’s _really_ nice to see the stars so clearly.” She says, twirling her finger in the air. 

A bridge greets them, and Daisy looks into the water under the bridge, smiling at her reflection. Leaning on the railing, Coco sighs, grabbing her necklace tight. “ _Are you alright_?” John asks, leaning down a bit to her. He tries to see the problem, but Coco shakes her head, putting her hand up.

“I’m… fine. Just… a _huge_ rush of nostalgia, you know?” He nods, and before he can say anything, Coco walks past him, keeping her head low. He stands on the bridge, watching the water slowly flow down towards the harbor. He turns his head, fixing his glasses, and actually notices the large bookstore standing on the other side of the bridge. He chortles and rubs his hands together rapidly, which confuses the others. “You… okay there, John?” Coco asks, cocking her eyebrow.

“Oh,” He quickly stops, coughing into his fist and looking away. “don’t thank me yet, but there is a **_large_ ** bookstore, _right there_ ,” Gesturing towards the store, he raises his eyebrows. “ripe for the picking!”

Daisy leans around to see the store, raising her head high to read the words. Tapping Ele’s arm, she points to the words, and Ele reads, “Book Nook. A mindless name.”

“Do you know what this means?” Asks John, gesturing fast to the store. “ _Shelter_ ,” Pointing towards the incoming clouds, John furrows his eyebrows. “ _from the rain_.”

“John’s right. We need shelter for the night.” Coco begins to walk towards the bookstore, a slight smile on her face. “And, hey, if we find some books, it’s a win-win,” Ele groans, walking with Coco, and Daisy following close. John still stands there, his hands on his hips, a smug grin on his face, and his eyes closed.

When he opens them, he realizes that the others have already walked off. “Hey! Wait for me!” He runs towards them, holding his glasses to his face.

When John reaches them, he rests his hands on his knees, breathing fast. The other three stand there, confusing John. “What’s… going on?”

“Door’s blocked,” Coco states, knocking on the door. “We need to find another way-” Ele suddenly takes her pistol and aims it at the door, firing right at it. The door and the contents behind it melt and reveal a pathway inside the bookstore. “-In.” She hesitantly pats Ele’s shoulder, a small smile on her face. “Good job, Ele!” Walking in, she crosses her arms. Looking around the doorway, she laughs. “I was thinking we’d have to climb through a window or something, and I am _not_ getting broken glass in my hair.”

The inside, despite being destroyed, is grand; a large golden spiral staircase sits in the middle of the large room, with slightly broken light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Rows and rows of bookshelves act as walls of a maze. John has a large smile on his face, intertwining his fingers together and holding them under his chin. Rushing in, he examines the shelves, chortling at all the books that he never had the opportunity to read before. Coco, laughing to herself, walks behind him, looking at the books as well. “ _Somebody’s_ in love,” she jokes, ruffling his hair.

He ignores the joke, and pulls a few books off the shelf, showing it to Coco like a small child with a new toy. “Do you know what this is?”

“A… book? I know what a book is, John,” She smiles, cocking her eyebrow.

“But think of the grand scheme of things! _All_ this knowledge, still preserved for the masses!” He closes his eyes, holding his hand over his heart, and leaning back a touch. “Oh, it’s enough to make me cry.”

Patting his back, Coco shakes her head. “Let’s make sure you _don’t_.” Looking back to the maze of shelves, Coco goes off and skims through them. She examines all the books, trying to find a particular one. Constantly checking behind her, she stares up. “Maybe… Oh!” Reaching up, she grabs a rather large book off the shelf, placing it under her arm. She then takes a few more of the books near it, keeping them close to her body.

Peeking around, John fixes his glasses. “What do you have there?” He startles Coco, and she quickly hides the books behind her.

“O-oh, it’s nothing. They’re just…” She places the others on the ground, holding up the large book for him to see. “guilty pleasures, that’s all.”

“ _Pride and Prejudice_?” Coco nods, sinking a bit into her sweater. “I didn’t take you for a Jane Austen fan.”

“I know, I know; you can make fun of me all you want. They’re not the _best_ , but I _adore_ her novels.”

Smiling small, John moves a bit closer, picking up one of the books on the ground. “I wasn’t going to make fun of you,” He opens up another novel, flipping through the pages with glee. “I, in fact, love her work as well.”

Coco, bewildered, stares at John with wide eyes. Snickering, she looks over to read with him as well. “I’m _honestly_ surprised _you_ like her. No offense.”

“In the twenty-something years we’ve known each other, I don’t think _this_ is the biggest surprise of them all,” He stifles a laugh, talking at length with her about their favorite authors, ranging from Orwell to Woolf.

* * *

Close by is Daisy, who consistently tries to reach for one of the books on the shelf, but her efforts are fruitless. She huffs, trying once more to get the book she greatly desires. Ele, shutting her book about the workings of computers, watches as Daisy struggles. Being fed up with her failures, she walks over. “What is the trouble?” Daisy points to the colorful book sitting somewhat open. “Do not worry, I will retrieve it for you,” Daisy smiles wide as she watches Ele reach for it perfectly fine. Handing the book to her, she begins to walk back to where she was, but Daisy latches onto her, staring up with puppy eyes. “What?”

“I… no know how to…” She sinks down, furrowing her eyebrows and covering her face with the book.

It clicks for Ele. Sitting down, Ele takes the small child and book, placing them both in her lap. Holding the book open, Ele begins to read in her monotone voice. “ _Madeline and the Bad Hat_.” Staring at the name, Ele narrows her eyes. “A ridiculous name. Who would…” Looking down at Daisy's bright smile as she looks over the illustrations, Ele stops her comment. She reads slowly, allowing Daisy to read aloud any word that confuses her.

John and Coco appear from around the shelf, with John carrying a majority of the books, and spot Ele reading to Daisy. John, leaning towards Coco, asks, “ _Should we say something_?”

“ _If we did, Ele would kill us_ . _Let’s leave them be_ ,” They turn around and go down another aisle, whispering about various topics.

As Coco sifts through the shelves, she laughs to herself, catching John’s attention. “What? What’s so funny?” She covers her mouth, gesturing to the book in her hand. Adjusting his glasses, he leans in to read what it says, “ _His Servant_? What about it?”

Breathing in and out, Coco flips through the pages. “It’s _erotica_ ,” She says, barely containing her laughter. His face immediately warms up and he turns away. Coughing, she prepares to read. “‘I felt warmth rushing through my body as she looked me up and down. Her sepia eyes screamed _take me now_!’” Coco exclaims, pretending to faint.

“ _Cornelia,_ **_no_ **!” he screeches, still turned around.

With a smug look, she flips to a different page, reading the smutty words on the page. “‘As she leaned down, I could feel myself work up. She comes in close, kissing my lips with fiery tension and passion. I melt into her as she takes off my shirt and glides her fingers across my abs. And before I knew it, my shorts came-” John swipes the book onto the ground, an expression of pure terror on his face. “What? _Didn’t like it_?” she asks in a mocking tone, slowly picking it back up. He covers his face, turning away again. Laughing loudly, she places the book back onto the shelf. “It’s awful; this author is absolute garbage. It’s a shock that she was able to sell a million copies.”

Covering his face, John sighs. “Well… _somebody_ clearly likes it then.”

“Yeah, old white moms who are displeased with their husbands,” She chuckles, walking down the aisle.

“Why did you even read _that_ aloud? _Surely_ , you must be embarrassed,” He asks, retucking his shirt. Coco shrugs, pointing to his still red-ish face.

Taking more books into her arms, she keeps her eyes on John. “It’s adorable seeing you so flustered,” That comment makes him blush even more. He crosses his arms, looking away and towards the dictionaries. Once Coco’s quota for books is satisfied, she turns back around, John watching her as she walks. “C’mon, we should go set up camp with the others,” He fixes his glasses once more, sighing as he makes his way towards the middle of the room.

The room is cold, with howling wind and unremitting rain pounding on the roof. John watches as rain trickles down from a hole in the ceiling, finding some enjoyment from seeing the drops hitting the water and creating tiny ripples. Rolling over to his side, he looks to see Daisy cuddled up with her doll, her tongue sticking out from her small smile. His eyes wander over to Coco’s sleeping figure, but he only sees her back, which is covered partially by her lab coat. There’s a feeling of longing in his heart, but he refuses to act upon it, even if he desperately wants to. He rolls onto his back, staring up at the ceiling again. Thoughts clog his mind; thoughts of nostalgia, thoughts of unrequited feelings, and thoughts of pure desire all swirl around in his brain. Groaning, he covers his eyes with his arm.

A quiet and robotic voice whispers to him, “Is everything okay, Dr. Heras?” He turns over to find Ele sitting on the ground, a book about the possibility of human-like AI in her lap. “I have detected abnormal sleeping positions that go against the correct ones shown in,” She holds up a children’s book about sleeping. “this manual.”

Feeling around for his glasses, John furrows his eyebrows. “Everything’s _fine_ , Ele,” Rolling once more onto his side, he mumbles. “Just leave me be.”

“I cannot do that, Dr. Heras. I am here to help with your problems.”

“ _In the morning_ ,” He grumbles, covering his face with his arm.

She pulls off his lab coat, revealing his shivering body. “Come with me,” He begrudgingly gets up, leaving his lab coat behind as he accompanies Ele to wherever she’s going.

Going up the spiral staircase, John looks over the railing and observes the shape. “Hm, _like DNA_ ?” He whispers to himself, fixing his glasses. “ _Ele_ , _I’m not sure if this will help with my sleeping_.”

“It will. I learned a lot about humans and your needs. From my surveillance of this area, there seems to be a café on the second floor.”

Furrowing his eyebrows, he stares up towards her. “And?”

“And I have read that tea can help humans calm down. Calming down is associated with sleep.”

“I knew that,” He looks away, putting his hand into his back pocket. “Is there even _any_ left? They might not even have guayusa or ashwagandha tea, which would be a shame,” He sighs, reliving the memories of drinking tea while he observes his plants during the experiments. But the memory is ruined when he sees a flash of orange in his mind.

Ele reaches the top of the stairs, pointing to the abandoned café. “We will go and see if there is any left. Then,” Turning to John, her eyes look more human-like instead of the normal cold ones. “you will go to sleep.”

He hesitates to climb the final steps. “Is that supposed to comfort me? Or is it a threat?” She doesn’t respond, and continues to walk to the café. A creaking sound comes out of nowhere, scaring John. “Ele? _Ele_!” He rushes over to her.

Before he enters a five-foot radius of the café, Ele shoves a box of lavender tea bags at his torso, an empty cup, and a cup of scalding water. “Where did you get this?” He asks, holding the filled cup from the bottom.

“There were faucets behind the counter.”

“Well, yes, I understood that part. But how did you heat it up?” She points to the palm of her hand, and places it on John’s cheek. It immediately warms up and nearly burns him, causing him to yelp. “ **Agh** !” He yells, jumping away and grabbing his cheek tight. “ **_Why_ ** did you do that?!”

“You wanted to know where the boiled water came from.”

“You didn’t have to _do it to me_!” He shrieks, still holding his scalded cheek. Looking at the box, and back to the cup. “You didn’t even _make_ _tea_. This is just hot water and a bunch of teabags.”

“You are a scientist. You can mix them.”

Furrowing his eyebrows and pursing his lips, John leans closer to Ele. “I’m a _botanist_ and a _biologist_!” He yell-whispers.

“Fine,” She takes a tea bag and places it into the empty cup, and taking the scalding one, she pours it in.

The two stand there for a few minutes, John’s expression shifting from confused to bored. Watching the tea sit and steep feels like an eternity, so much so that John sits down on the stairs, holding the cup with both hands. Peeping up towards Ele, he crinkles his face. “Ele, do you… hate me?”

“No.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice to-”

“I do not trust you,” He raises his eyebrows, lowering his mouth. “I do not want you to hurt Subject 8114.”

Shifting in his spot, he swirls the tea in the cup. “I would _never_ hurt her. That would be monstrous.”

Sighing, she sits down as well, crossing her arms on top of her legs. “I know. I am… afraid that you will hurt her. Dr. Roscoe did, how do I know you will not?” He stays quiet, watching the tea swirl. Taking a sip, he raises his eyebrows and smiles. He pulls the tea bag and sets it beside himself, indulging in his tea. “Is the tea satisfactory, Dr. Her- John?” He nods, a smile on his face as he continues to consume more of it. “Good.”

Back downstairs, John tries to sleep again, his lab coat draped over his body, and his empty teacup sitting beside him. Ele sits close by, drifting into low power mode to conserve energy. He turns and turns, groaning as his mind creates vivid imagery within his head… 

_Scribbling down notes on a piece of paper, John avidly listens to the small radio that sits on his desk. A big band plays from the station, and John taps his pencil to the beat. He watches the small embryo float in the solution with abnormal daisies growing around it, and he looks at the petri dish with several samples of DNA from a flower. Vines grow all around and slowly engulfs them. He takes a sip of his tea but ends up spitting it out, chunks of marigold now all over the floor. John furrows his eyebrows, examining the flowers before a figure bursts into the room._

_“L-Lillian!” He scrambles to his feet, grabbing his notes from behind him. Walking over to her, he notes her lack of head, replaced with a cluster of orange lilies. “I have the observations of Da- Subject 8114; everything seems well so far. I even performed an EKG,” She doesn’t respond and walks towards the test subject. As he stands back, vines grow around his arms, holding his wrists down._

_“Give me the notes,” she demands, suddenly in front of him. He shakily gives her the papers, and she snatches them, walking off to the window. Tossing them to the floor, Lillian sighs, leaning on the table. She slams her fist, startling John. “_ **_Goddammit_ ** _! Do you honestly think this is acceptable!? You absolute_ **_dunce_ ** _! You didn’t even write down her blood pressure or white blood cell count, those were_ **essential** _!” She gets closer to him, her fists quivering. More plants grow around John, trapping him with her. “Why can’t you do anything right? It was a simple task for you, Johnathon; it bewilders me how you could not even complete it properly. It’s a wonder you even graduated from college. What do you have to say for yourself?” He stands completely still, holding the clipboard close to his face. “Answer me.” she commands, stepping closer to him. “_ **_Answer me_ ** _! Why won’t you answer me?! You pathetic,_ **_worthless-_ ** _” She reaches for his shoulders but before she could thrust his head down, butterfly weeds block out his vision._

_His vision is shrouded by the plants, but he can still see himself. Feeling his face, he feels a bit of warmth, and looking down, he sees blood all over his hands. Lillian’s voice reverberates around him, seemingly coming out of nowhere, which causes him to panic. Bruises begin appearing all over his skin, and he can see blood dripping down from his nose, creating a puddle on the ground. “You know I do it because I care about you.” her voice calls out from the darkness. Vines begin to overtake his body, obscuring his vision until all he sees is the neverending darkness, with footsteps growing in volume before-_

* * *

John shoots up, breathing heavily as his heart nearly explodes. He grabs his chest, still huffing loudly. “ _Are you okay_ ?” someone whispers, causing John to jerk away. “ _John?_ ” Coco’s soothing voice calls to him. Holding her lab coat over her shoulders, she moves closer to him. “ _Take deep breaths_ ,” He follows her instructions, his surroundings becoming a bit more clear. “ _Can you look around and tell me what you see?_ ” He tries to respond, but can only feel a sharp tightness in his throat. His mind races with disjointed, terrified thoughts.

She slowly moves towards him, reaching her arms out. He jerks back, his breathing speeding up and his tears pouring out faster. “ _Can you tell me what you need_ ?” Her tone is low, but it doesn’t stop him from frantically pushing himself away. Coco, wanting to distract him, thinks of something to do. “ _Concentrate on your breathing, okay_ ? _Here, we’ll do it together_ ,” She breathes in sync with him, making her breathing loud and clear for him to listen to. He does so too, finally being able to see her as clear as he can without his glasses. “ _Do you know where we are_ ? _We’re in the bookstore; Daisy and Ele are sleeping nearby, and I’m right here_ .” The tears clinging to his cheeks begin to dry up. Gently placing her hand on his, she rubs her thumb over his calloused palm. “ _Do you remember the honeysuckle bushes by the river_ ?” she asks, clasping her other hand around his. “ _We’d go down after school_ . _You scraped your knee on the log bridge, and I patched you up._ ” She continues to soothe him, keeping her distance from him as he begins to calm down. 

They separate, and Coco takes her lab coat, laying closer to him. She flashes him a large smile, covering herself with her ‘blanket.’ Whispering, she reaches out and brushes her hand over his arm. “Good night, John.” He too lays down, a smile now on his face as he drifts off.

Almost as if God himself doesn’t want him to sleep, John wakes up, his eyes burning. Groaning, John rolls over to see Daisy sitting near a window. He furrows his eyebrows and looks for his glasses, putting them on as he stands up. Walking over to her, he looks out the window as well. “Daisy?” She doesn’t move. He lowers himself to her level, still watching the rainfall. “What are you,” He stretches his arms and yawns. “doing up so early?”

“The sky.”

“The… sky? What about it?”

Pointing to the sky, she frowns. “She’s hurt. Look,” Rain continues to pour down onto the ruins. John, with a blank face, looks around. “She’s crying,” Daisy reaches into her newly stitched up sweater, and pulls out one of Valerian’s flowers, throwing it up to the sky. The flower wilts away immediately, making Daisy curl up into a tucking position.

Sitting on the small bench by the window, John wraps his arms around her. “It’s just rain, Daisy; the sky doesn’t get hurt,” He looks back out, a pensive look on his face. Peeking down, he sees her sorrowful expression. “But… I think you helped her.”

“Really?” She mumbles in her sweater.

“Really.”

* * *

The sun hides behind the clouds, keeping the ground cool. Coco looks around the area, making sure that there isn’t anything dangerous. When she deems the area safe, she calls for Daisy to follow. She hops out from the bushes, leaves scattered in her large, poofy hair. “Alright, let’s see what we got,” The two walk forward a bit, and Daisy trips on something, flopping onto the ground. Looking down, Coco notices the train tracks. “Are you alright, sweetie?” she asks, bending down. Daisy rapidly nods, jumping up to her feet. “Huh,” Leaning back, she looks at the stretching tracks the span for miles. “never seen this before.”

Daisy, bending back down, taps the train tracks. “What are these?”

“They’re train tracks,” She smiles, stepping over the metal and standing in the middle of the track. Daisy tilts her head. “These big things called trains would use the train tracks to carry stuff everywhere,” Daisy _ahhs_ , plopping down and tapping the metal more. Sitting next to her, Coco rests her head on her legs, placing her bag of supplies right beside her. Daisy soon notices the rust on the metal, which scares her. Reaching for her bush, she pulls out a daisy, placing it on the track. Her face slowly droops and she kneels near the tracks. “What’s wrong?” The flower wilts into ash, blowing away in the wind.

“It’s not working,” She brushes her fingers over the rust, a large frown on her face. “The track still hurts.”

“Aw, Daisy,” Coco ruffles her hair, rubbing her back. “train tracks aren’t alive.”

Looking up with large, puppy eyes, Daisy asks, “No? Are they… dead?”

She shakes her head, still rubbing her back. “No, train tracks are weird. They aren’t alive, but they’re not dead either,” She gestures to the ground. “They live in a state of just… existing, like the ground… or lawyers.”

Looking out to the dead and wilted flowers in the bushes, Daisy feels her head tense up. “Coco?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Do,” She glances back to the bushes. “are flowers alive?”

Chuckling quietly, Coco nods. “Of course! They’re like you and me; they need food, water, shelter, and lots of love. They grow and change like humans do.”

“Coco?” She picks one of the small flowers growing beside the track, staring at it with wide eyes. “Am I like a human?”

Smiling wide, Coco pulls her into a quick hug. “More than you can _ever_ imagine,” Daisy giggles, hugging her back. A sound comes from the bushes, interrupting their little moment. Coco, alert and ready, jumps to her feet. Picking up a wide stick, she slowly approaches the rustling leaves, keeping Daisy right behind her. She keeps her eyes narrow and head low, trying her hardest to sneak up on whatever is in the bushes. Once she reaches the noise, she lifts the stick above her head but is knocked off her feet by the creature. Daisy, frightened and panicking, runs over to her, taking a few flowers out from the bush. But when she reaches Coco, she lowers her stance, tilting her head. A large dog sits on top of her, licking her face with absolute glee. The dog has a rich abundance of orange fur; the fur is so thick that Daisy’s entire arm goes through before she can touch the dog’s actual body.

“Dog! Dog!” she yells, a bright smile on her face as she dances around the animal. 

“A Tibetan Mastiff, if we’re being specific,” She struggles to get out of the dog’s loving grasp, but she just flops onto the ground. “I knew a guy who… had one. They are the _sweetest_ lil’ creatures… you can find,” Daisy falls softly onto the dog, trying to hug _all_ of it. Mumbling, she plants her face into the fur. “What was that?”

Lifting her head up, her face is covered completely with dog fur. “I love her!” she exclaims with happy tears in her eyes.

“Is it a _her_ ?” Coco slides under the dog and comes back up with a look of disgust. “It is,” Laughing, she watches as Daisy continues to hug the dog and proclaim her love for the large animal. “What do you think we should name her? I was thinking: _Lady Licks-A-Lot_.”

Raising her head again, Daisy thrusts both her arms into the air. “Dinosaur!”

Coco pauses before bursting out into laughter. She lowers her body, feeling around the dog’s neck for a collar. She feels something and moves the surrounding fur away, looking at the golden dog tag. “Tulip? Huh, cute name,” Standing up, she rests her hands on her knees. She speaks in a voice used when speaking to babies, asking Tulip, “Do you wanna come with us, girl?” Tulip’s tail begins wagging rapidly, and she lowers her body. 

Glancing down, Coco notices Tulip’s front paw; her paw is slightly mangled, with a good chunk of fur missing. “Aw, come here, girl. We’ll bring you somewhere safe and get your paw all wrapped up, okay?” Leaning around, Coco spots Daisy still hugging the dog, and an idea pops up. “Oh, _duh_. Daisy, sweetie?” The small child peeks up, dog fur getting into her hair. “Can I have a flower? Tulip’s paw is hurt,” She immediately springs off the dog, rushing over with one of the flowers in between her fingers. Hopping over, she hands her the flower, hoping that the dog will make it. “Thank you,” Coco flashes her a smile before going back to Tulip. Trying to keep Tulip still, Coco places the flower onto the paw, and the wound begins to heal. When it finishes healing, Tulip begins to lick her paw with delight. “Do you think John will be mad at us?”

“He said he likes dogs,” She stands up, brushing leaves and dirt off her hospital gown. “but he likes ferrets more.”

 _Ahh_ ing, Coco puts her hands on her hips. “ _Right_ ,” She shrugs, whistling for Tulip to follow her, which she does. “Eh, I’m sure he’ll _love_ her. Who doesn’t like dogs?” Before she follows Coco, Daisy looks back to the small patch of flowers near the train tracks, and she places a few of her flowers on the dead bushes. The flowers, instead of healing the bushes, merely fade to ash and blow away in the wind.

* * *

The three of them make their way towards their camp from last night. Coco, as soon as she spots John, tells Daisy and Tulip to stay put. Daisy wraps her arms around Tulip’s neck, nodding happily. Winking, Coco rushes off to John.

“John!” She waves her hand around in the air, grabbing John’s attention. “We got supplies!” She also holds up the bag filled with water and some medicine from a nearby pharmacy. 

Wrapping his lab coat around his waist, John smiles, chortling to himself. “Fantastic! Good jo-” He notices the lack of a small child with Coco and becomes anxious. “Um, Cornelia, I would hate to worry you… but where is Daisy?”

“I’m glad you asked,” She puts her arms behind her back, bowing forward. “in fact, here she is!” Gesturing out to where she came from, Coco brings his, and Ele’s, attention towards the upcoming duo of Daisy and Tulip. John’s eyes go wide, and he hunches over. Scooting closer, Coco chuckles at his expression. “I knew you’d like her!”

Tulip’s mild jog becomes a sprint. Leaping towards John, she knocks him over, licking his face excessively. “ _Cornelia_!”

“Loving her already?” She beams, leaning down with her arms behind her back.

“ _Where_ did you find her?” he asks, pushing Tulip’s face away from his own. Pointing towards the train tracks, Coco explains what happened. John, still utterly confused, lays on the ground, Tulip now just sitting on top of him and panting. “ _What_ are we going to do with her? You cannot possibly think we’ll be able to…” He looks to Coco’s happy expression as she combs her fingers through the dog’s fur, and he feels his cheeks warm up. “ _Fine_ ,” He grumbles, finally pushing the dog off of him. “ _This is going to be the death of me_ ,” he mumbles to himself, watching both Coco and Daisy give Tulip their full attention. Ele walks over, slinging the large bag of food over her shoulder. Placing her hand on top of Tulip’s head, a small smile appears on her face. “Are you _smiling_?” When he mentions it, the smile immediately goes away, and she returns to her stoic expression. Tulip, realizing a new person started giving her attention, jumps up onto Ele, yet she can’t knock her over.

She takes her hands and ruffles the dog’s cheeks, playing with the dog’s large ears. This absolutely bewilders the others, as they all look to each other with confusion. “ **What**?” she asks, her tone harsh. John and Coco look away, while Daisy smiles with her tongue slightly poking out.

When they get all of their supplies ready for travel, the three adults talk about their next plans, but Daisy stares out into the harbor, watching as the water flows with immaculate grace and poise. Looking back to the others, she sneaks off towards the water. Tulip notices and follows her.

Watching the water crash against the wooden pillars of the deck, Daisy wonders about water like this; the idea of a large body of water enraptures her, giving her a sense of calm. Sitting on the edge of the pier, she kicks her legs up and down, mesmerized by the waves. She looks to her reflection, smiling as she pats her fluffy hair. Looking up, she spots birds in the air, and she tries reaching them, to no avail. Mutated fish swim deep within the water, only their shiny scales and spiny backs are visible from the surface. She crawls onto her knees, leaning over the pier to touch the fish, but as soon as her hand almost touches the water- “Daisy!” John calls out, hushing Tulip’s barking. Jerking her head to his voice, Daisy stands up, staring at the fish with curious eyes. “Daisy?” He turns the corner, finding Daisy near the pier. “There you are. Come on, we need to go,” He takes her hand and leads her back to the others, but Daisy’s eyes linger on the harbor. One of the fish pokes its head out of the water, its multiple eyes blinking at Daisy. Her eyes widen, and she sinks into her sweater, avoiding eye contact as much as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my son. i hate how much turmoil i put him through,,, but its my coping strategy *whips and nae naes*


	5. Diving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John is quite the flustered one, isn't he?

Coco groans as she drags her feet across the dirt and dust. “How long have we been walking?” she whines, wiping sweat from her forehead.

John looks to his watch and turns his head to face her. “Five hours,” he guesses. Coco groans even louder, covering her eyes with her arm.

Ele, grumbling under her breath, continues to hold Daisy on her shoulders. “A segment of the Patapsco River is nearby,” She states with an absolutely blank expression.

Reaching into the water bag, John takes out a water bottle and walks over to Coco, handing her the bottle. She thanks him, chugging it quickly. Tulip pants fast, walking alongside Coco. Pointing to her, she gasps for air. “Me too, sister.”

John rolls his eyes, covering his smile with his hand. “There’s a strong breeze, and the sun’s behind the clouds; I’m quite surprised that you’re tired already.”

Pushing her hair away from her face, Coco huffs. “I haven’t walked  _ like this _ in  **_years_ ** ,” She takes off her coat, folding it over her arm. She lowers her head, watching her boots strike the dirt and rocks. Making an audible groan, she looks back at Tulip. “How do you do it?” she asks, gripping her calf tight. “You just walk around with all that fur like it’s nothing,” She chuckles, ruffling Tulip’s fur.

A ruined neighborhood greets the five of them, houses collapsing onto themselves with plants taking them over. Rusty mailboxes dot the homes’ front lawns, each with their own unique design. John grazes his hand over one of the destroyed cars, reminiscing on past memories of driving around. “We could probably salvage these. Imagine,” He gestures to the car’s rusted hood. “if we could fix this; the late-night drives, easier travel…”

Ele turns to face him, still holding Daisy to her. “Do you have training in mechanics?” He shrinks down, slowly shaking his head. “Then  **no** ; we cannot salvage the vehicle,” She goes back to marching towards the bridge nearby. He mumbles to himself, glancing back to Coco’s trudging body.

Gripping her neck, she groans quietly. John, looking from Ele to Coco, walks over to her. “Hey, are you alright?” He asks, strolling beside her. She nods, giving him a fake smile.

“Neck pains; I’m getting old,” Searching around in her pocket, she pulls out a hair-tie, tying her hair back and making it into a medium length ponytail. “I’ll be fine,” She laughs, placing her hand on his shoulder. “If anything, we should be worried about Tulip over here,” Pointing to Tulip’s wagging tongue, she raises her eyebrows. “Poor thing, all that fur…”

“I’m sure she’s perfectly okay. She’s resilient,” He looks at her neck, the skin is slightly red. “So are you. We’ll all make it out of here, and life will get back to normal… somewhat.”

Grinning, Coco gently pushes him. “Don’t be so cheesy,” The two laugh and talk as they cross the bridge before they hear a commotion. Daisy yells and laughs from far ahead, pointing to the water. Running over to them, John, Coco, and Tulip try to see what’s wrong. “Daisy, what’s wrong?” Coco asks, looking to Ele’s face for some kind of confirmation of a problem, but her face is just as indifferent as it ever is. Daisy, tapping on Ele’s face, asks to be put down, and Ele slowly drops her onto the ground. “What? Did you find  _ buried treasure _ ?” John softly elbows her, but she smirks, looking back to Daisy with a cocked eyebrow. Daisy, smiling incredibly wide, points excitedly to the river and the clearing, which is covered entirely with a sand-dirt mixture. “Oh, sweet!” Coco exclaims, running with Daisy down the hill, nearly tripping over her own legs. 

John, standing next to Ele, furrows his eyebrows. “Shall we?” He asks with a slight smile, but Ele ignores him and follows the two with minimal expression. “Alrighty then.”

Down the hill, the breeze isn’t as strong, only moving the tall grass around slightly. Without any effort, the river runs by, its sound calming Daisy down from her excitement. Daisy tries to run into the water, but Coco pulls her back. “ _ Easy _ there, Tiger! We don’t wanna ruin the sweater, yeah?” Daisy nods, taking off her sweater and handing it Coco, and  _ then _ she rushes into the water, splashing around. “John, you coming in?”

He puts his hand up, crossing his arms. “No thanks, I’m not a fan of water… or  _ swimming _ .”

Shrugging, she hands him the sweater. “Suit yourself,” She takes off her own sweater and pulls down her skirt, revealing her leggings underneath. Handing them to John, she hops into the water as well, laughing as Daisy splashes her.

Blushing incredibly hard, John can barely make a coherent thought as his mind races. His eyes go wide, and he can feel his legs shake. “ _ Oh, God _ ,” he mutters, looking away quickly.

“You are overheating,” Ele states, suddenly behind him and leaning down.

Yelping, he turns to see Ele staring at him. He jumps back, his glasses nearly falling off his nose.“ _ Ele _ ! Don’t sneak up on me!”

“John, you are overheating. You should turn on your cooling systems.”

“I- I don’t…” he sighs, taking a quick peek back to Coco and back to Ele. “It’s fine. _I’m_ _fine_! One hundred percent… _fine_!”

Looking at Coco and Daisy having fun and laughing, Ele looks down at John still blushing. “You start overheating when looking at Coco. Did she overwork your sensors?”

“ _ Oh Dios, sálvame _ ,” He whispers, covering his face with the sweaters. “I think I’m in love with her,” His eyes go wide again, and he groans, slamming his head into the pile of clothing.

“That is very clear.”

He does a double-take, staring at her with confusion written all over his face. “You  _ know _ about this?”

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

“Well,” He gestures to her metallic body. “you’re a robot,” She shrugs. “And… robots don’t… feel emotion?”

Rolling her eyes, Ele watches Daisy splash around. “You take me as some kind of idiot. I have been doing research on human emotions. The best textbook being  Your Feelings are Wild , by renowned author Stuart Lewis.”

He blinks for a bit, befuddled at her choice of ‘textbook.’ “Ele… that’s a children’s book.”

“Is it? Oh. It is still a helpful tool in learning human emotions. And from it, I can conclude that you are in love.”

Biting his lips, he whines, “ _ No _ , don’t say it! You’ll make it  _ worse _ !”

“Why deny your feelings? You like her, do you not?”

“I  _ do _ , but you don’t have to keep saying it! Besides,” Looking back at her, John watches as she takes her hair out and laughs loud and proud. Smiling, he sighs, looking down at his feet. “she wouldn’t want me anyway. She needs someone who’s…  _ nothing  _ like me; I’m a mess, and she doesn’t deserve to have to deal with that,” He takes a seat on a log nearby, resting the clothing in his lap. Feeling the fabric of Coco’s sweater between his fingers, he frowns and closes his eyes. Ele, glancing back and forth from him to the other two, decides to walk over to him.

“John,” He peers up from his glasses, his frown prominent. “You two have a strong… friendship. She cares about you. If you were to tell her about your feelings, I am sure she will respect them. Perhaps you two will become a…”

“A couple?”

“Yes.”

Shaking his head, he watches the sunset’s reflection of the river. Coco waves for him, pulling Daisy out of the water. “Soon… maybe. I don’t know, Ele,” He separates Daisy’s clothes from Coco’s, still feeling the fabric. “When the time’s right,” He walks over to the other two, handing them their clothing. Watching John, Ele sighs, shaking her head and frowning.

* * *

Coco stands up, brushing off her hands. With a smile, she calls Ele over, gesturing to the makeshift tent. The tent is simply a few sticks holding up her and John’s lab coats that are now stitched together. Ele, not impressed, rolls her eyes. “Like it? I think it’s pretty good, right?”

“I thought you were an engineer.”

“I mean, yeah, but I focus on nuclear energy mostly,” She sighs, sitting down on the ground outside the tent. “But this is  _ pretty _ ingenious. Who would’ve thunk it?” She laughs, laying down on her back, but she instantly sits up when she remembers all the dirt. “Can you hand me the clothes bag?” She points to the supplies bag, and Ele walks over, handing it to her. She shuffles through it, picking out a shirt and pants. Taking off her original outfit, she pulls a shirt over her head. She stands up and puts on the sweatpants. She notices Ele staring down at the ground. “What’s going on in your head, my robotic pal?” She asks, turning around to see Ele’s stoic face.

Looking around, Ele makes sure John is not present. “It is… about John.”

“Don’t tell me:  _ you’ve got a crush on him _ !” She mocks, chuckling under her breath. Ele sighs, walking closer. Looming over Coco, Ele stares at her without her usual scowl. “Uh oh, something serious is going on.”

She gestures to the ground, asking Coco to sit down, which she does. Brushing through her synthetic hair, Ele begins, “This is important,” Taking the bag off her shoulder and placing it on the ground, Ele looks away. “John did not tell me to keep this a secret, so I am telling you. Do not tell him,” Coco nods, cocking her eyebrow and leaning closer. “John… has feelings for you,” There’s a pause. Coco sits back, placing her hands in her lap. Smiling, Coco puts her hair back up into the ponytail, laughing louder now. “What is your verbal reaction to this?”

“Ele, I  _ know _ ,” She snickers, covering her mouth.

“You knew? Who told you? Is immediate action needed?”

“No, no, nobody  _ told _ me,” She shrugs, a slight blush spreading over her cheeks. “John’s just  _ not  _ the best at being subtle. Here, I got a story for you,” She motions for Ele to sit beside her, which she hesitantly does. “Back in ‘46, our senior year, John invited me to prom,” Ele tilts her head, a bit confused. “It’s a big dance, and he invited me. I just broke up with  _ Thomas Ahmad _ , and I didn’t have anyone to go with… except for John,” She closes her eyes, rubbing her finger over the moonstone in the middle of her necklace. “He and I went. I even picked out the  _ best  _ outfit for the night, and he wore a really nice suit and brought me some jonquils. But that’s beside the point. We left about twenty minutes in, and just hung out in the courtyard all night,” Sighing, her smile slowly disappears, and she looks to the stars. “That’s when it was clear, and he had that…  _ cute _ smile… a slight blush… and his eyes glimmered in the moonlight, but… I didn’t act upon it, seeing how I was still getting over Thomas.”

“Do you love him back?” Ele asks. Coco pauses before nodding.

“I  _ do _ , but it’s… not the right time,” She gestures to the rest of the area. “We’re still traveling. Maybe… if we find a town to stay in, and we aren’t at risk of dying every three seconds,” Sighing lovingly, she continues to rub her thumb over the moonstone. “We’ll… have a nice house, and maybe a child. I- I don’t know.”

“Will you tell him soon?”

“Oh, I  _ better  _ be the first one to confess,” She points to herself with her thumb. “There’s no way he’d be able to tell me properly without becoming a puddle of goo. I’ll hold off for now, so don’t worry your little android head,” She reaches up and ruffles Ele’s hair, which she doesn’t approve of, huffing as Coco does it.

* * *

“Alright, here!” John exclaims, tossing Daisy the twigs from the tree. He squints, looking down at the small figure below him. “Did you get them?”

Daisy runs over, catching the twigs in her arms. Tulip tries to help as well, wagging her tail fast as she takes one of the sticks into her mouth. “Got them!” she calls up, struggling to hold all the twigs in her arms.

He slowly climbs down, keeping his eye on the tree. He drops down, nearly falling over when his feet touch the ground. Picking up his fair share of sticks, he looks to Daisy. “Ready?” She nods rapidly. Glancing to Tulip, a large stick in her mouth and her tail wagging, John smiles wide. “Ready, Tulip?” She barks with the volume of a gunshot. “I’ll take that as a yes,” He nods to Daisy, she nods to him, and they both begin to walk back to their camp.

The three walk in uncomfortable silence, Daisy constantly taking quick glances at John’s still blushing face. “John?” She speaks up, carrying the twigs under her arms. He turns his head to her, raising his eyebrows. “Why do you… act weird around Coco?” asks Daisy, retracting a bit into her sweater.

John, adjusting his shirt collar, coughs obnoxiously. “It’s nothing,” She huffs, furrowing her eyebrows. “What?”

She rapidly hits his arm with a gentle force. “Answer! Answer!”

Groaning, he rolls his eyes, grabbing her tiny hand and pushing it away. “ _ Fine _ . I… like her,” She tilts her head, confused.

“I like her too!”

“No, I  _ like _ her. Like  _ love _ . Like maybe I wish I could hold her tight and pull her close to me. Then we kiss, and we have a nice home, maybe with a child, and we’ll go on dates, and-” He looks at Daisy’s beaming face, her eyes sparkling like the stars above. “ _ Don’t _ . Cornelia doesn’t need to know about this,” He glares at her from his peripheral vision, squinting his eyes at her.

“Yes!” she exclaims, holding the sticks tighter. Glancing to Tulip, she winks, then turns back to John.

“When we get to camp, please give the sticks to Ele so we can make a fire, okay?” She nods fast, hopping further ahead of him. “You’re the only one who keeps me sane, Tulip-” She too rushes towards the others, making John frown and sigh.

* * *

Daisy pushes through a few bushes of wildflowers, picking some and putting them in the bag that’s hanging from Tulip’s mouth. When she picks a particular one, she stares at the flower’s bright yellow petals, feeling the soft texture between her splotched fingers. She turns to Tulip, the dog basically smiling, which makes Daisy smile in return. Placing the flower into the basket as well, Daisy sighs. “Would John like this one?” she asks, holding a few columbines in her fists. Tulip whines, her ears flickering. “Yeah, Ele likes… blue more.” She puts them into the basket, hopping around the bushes. Whining again, Tulip follows Daisy on her escapade. “Flowers for John and Coco’s wedding! Vally told me that when two people love each other  _ so _ much,” She extends her arms out over her head. “they get married!” Tulip tilts her head, almost spilling the flowers. “Vally said that flowers are important. So we need to find some!” Daisy stares at the dog’s droopy face, and she ruffles her fur, giggling. “John needs red, Coco needs… yellow!” She pushes some leaves aside and picks a few more flowers, placing each into the basket. Reaching for another, she falls over and out the other side of the bush, but she has the flower in her hand. Tulip pushes through the bush as well, sitting right beside her. “Look! I got it!” Panting loudly, Tulip wags her tail incredibly fast. Standing up and brushing off her hospital gown, she begins to walk back, but a loud sound catches her attention.

Turning around and hiding behind a tree, she watches as armored vehicles come to a complete stop, and a few people walk out from them. A tall woman steps out, fixing her tank top strap and placing her goggles on the top of her head. Wiping her face of grime, she gives out commands to the others, pointing towards the forest. What she says is distant and incomprehensible, but the woman alone is enough to get Daisy curious. They rush over to where she pointed, which gives Daisy a perfect opportunity to investigate.

She hops over with Tulip and struggles to climb inside one of the vehicles. Tulip, grabbing her by the collar of her sweater, drops her in. Smiling at the dog, she begins her little investigation, rummaging through one of the bags on the floor of the car. The radio quietly plays a Bobby Darin song, making Daisy bob her head to the tune as she pulls out an abnormally large knife. A large rifle sits on the seat above her, making her jump a bit. Standing up, she asks Tulip to help her down, but she’s suddenly pulled up by her arm and face-to-face with one of the men from before. “Look what  _ I _ got, boys!” He shows her off to the others like she’s some sort of kill. “What’re you doing around  _ these _ parts, scrapper?” He leans in closer to Daisy’s terrified face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh shit.


	6. Observing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friends or foes?

“What do you have to say for yourself, eh?” Daisy, scared out of her mind, doesn’t respond, but Tulip does. She bites the man’s ankle, making him yelp in pain and drop the little girl. They both try to run away back to their camp, but the man isn’t ready to give up. “Get ‘em!”

Daisy tries to run, constantly tripping over her own legs, breathing heavily as she pushes through shrubs. Tulip runs right beside her, panting extremely fast. Before she can make it to the clearing, one of the men forcibly grabs her wrist, snatching her back. She yells for Tulip to run away, and the men let the dog go. “What do ya say we do with her?” one of them asks, taking rusty handcuffs from his belt and putting them on Daisy.

“Take her to the boss. She’ll  _ love _ to deal with this  _ herself _ ,” He lowers himself to Daisy’s eye level, growling like an animal. “You’d like that,  _ yeah _ ?” Daisy’s breathing becomes rapid and uneven as they pull her away from her camp. She watches as the clearing grows further and further away, but her spirit stays strong.

* * *

Tulip, running in a zig-zag pattern, sniffs her way to the camp. Jumping through a bush, she finds herself just on the outside of their camp, and she runs over, barking up a storm.

John, trying to sleep for once, lays down, closing his eyes tight. He sighs in relief and drifts slowly into a deep sleep… and then he hears the barking. Groaning, he sits straight up, putting his glasses back on and looking over to see Tulip running. “Tulip?” She jumps up onto John, still barking. “What’s… wrong?” The sudden barking alerts Coco and Ele, who both walk over to see what’s going on. Tulip quickly hops off, pointing towards the bushes.

“Where’s Daisy?” Coco asks, her heart pounding in her chest. Tulip runs through bushes, still barking. The three look at each other quickly before following the dog through the shrubbery.

As they run, John begins to panic, thinking of all the horrible things that could be happening to her. “ _ Why _ … did we leave her unsupervised?!” he yells to the other two behind him.

“I thought she’d be safe with Tulip!” Coco answers, swiftly putting her hair back up. “Oh, God, what’s happening to her?!”

“This is why I never let her leave my sight. But you two insisted she would be fine. This is  **your** fault.”

“ _ Our fault _ ?” John exclaims, turning around. “ _ You _ should have been watching her! It’s your  _ job _ !” They continue to argue, giving Coco a massive headache.

Coco, stumbling over her feet, shouts, “We can play the blame game later! Right now, we need to make sure Daisy is alright! So  **stop** acting like children!” The two are silent as they continue to follow Tulip. Coco sighs, feeling her mind race with thousands of unpleasant ideas.

* * *

The man who put the handcuffs on her carries Daisy on his shoulder as they make their way through the wilted forest. He huffs with each step, almost like it’s an incredible feat. Daisy, a bit more comfortable with the situation, looks down to see his arm covered in blood-stained bandages. “Hey, mister?”

“ **No.** ”

“Your arm is hurt,” she says, rubbing her itchy nose on the collar of her sweater.

“ **I don’t care** .”

She furrows her eyebrows, pouting as she rests her chin on his sharp shoulder. “You sound like Ele,” She mumbles to herself. Kicking her legs, Daisy watches the stars in the sky. “Do you like stars?”

“ **No** .”

She grumbles, twisting her wrists to try and be more comfortable in them, but it doesn’t work and just makes them feel worse. She peers over his shoulder to see a large paw print on the back of his leather jacket, with the words ‘Beast Tamers’ under the graphic. “Do you like… animals?”

There’s a pause in his grumbling. “ **Yes** .”

“Me too!” she exclaims, a large smile on her face. “What’s your favorite? I like dogs.”

“ **Dogs are nice** ,” Daisy continues to ask him questions, and he seems to like talking with her.

Up ahead, one of the men groans, turning around and narrowing his eyes at the two. Playing with his lip piercing, he whistles at the large man. “Don’t talk with the  **_thief_ ** , you moron!” He rebukes in a nasal voice. “You’re gonna get all attached and then what’ll happen?”

The large man stops talking, looking down in shame. Daisy, noticing his somber look, tries to pat his hand with her cuffed one. “There, there,” she comforts, smiling small. “He’s a meanie; don’t listen to him.”

Grabbing his hair, he sharply turns around and pulls her down from the large man’s grasp. “ _ I’m _ holding the kid from now on. Look at that,” He points to the larger man’s tears with his heavily scarred hand. “she made you all  **soft** !” He places her on the ground, looking her dead in the eyes. “What’s your deal, eh? What kinda scrapper is  _ this _ nice?” He snarls  nice like it’s a vile word that leaves a bad taste on his tongue. She shrugs, a small smile appearing on her face. “ _ God _ , I cannot  **wait** for you to leave,” The tall woman from before appears from the forest, her goggles now over her eyes. “ _ Finally _ . Masina! We caught a thief!” He points to Daisy, sneering at the small child whenever she looks at him.

“A thief?” she asks, her voice smooth like caramel. Walking over, she bends down, examining the green splotches on Daisy’s face, arms, and legs. “This doesn’t look like a thief to me.”

“Well, she  **is** . I caught her in my car with her  _ grubby  _ hands in my bag.”

Masina, looking back at Daisy, asks in her honey voice, “Did you take anything?” Daisy shakes her head rapidly, keeping her smile on her face. “Well then, here,” She unlocks the handcuffs, throwing them to the ground. “You’re free,” The nasal man makes a face of disappointment and huffs, looking away. Immediately, Daisy runs over to the large man, reaching into her sweater.

Pulling out one of her flowers, she holds it up to him. “Take off the…” She doesn’t know the word and just points at the man’s bandages. He complies, tossing them to the ground, revealing a deep gash on his forearm. Daisy places the flower on the wound, and it soon fades to a simple scar. Everyone except Daisy stands around, dazzled by what they had just seen. Masina gasps and cocks her eyebrow, leaning down.

Daisy turns around and pulls down her sweater collar, showing them the bush of daisies that grows out of her chest. “A hybrid,” Masina smiles warmly, bending down to the child’s level. “What’s your name?”

“Daisy,” she replies softly, sinking down a bit into her sweater collar.

“Daisy? What an adorable name. I’m Masina,” Standing up, she gestures out to the small group. “and we are Beast Tamers.” Daisy tilts her head, a tad confused. “We go and find the Aftermath’s monsters and take notes about them. We keep people and the animals safe from one another,” She pulls her goggles to the top of her head, still smiling. “Are you alone?” Daisy shakes her head slowly, sinking lower into her sweater. “I haven’t seen you in one of the kingdoms; who do you live with?”

“My… friends. John, Coco, and Ele.”

“What do your friends do?” Masina takes Daisy a little bit away from the intimidating men.

“John and Coco are… scientists. Ele is a robot who protects me.”

Nodding, Masina stares at the ground. “I see. Do you like your friends?” Daisy nods fast, keeping her eyes off of her. “Good; it’s good to have friends.”

* * *

John peeks out from a dead tree, observing the Beast Tamers with a careful eye. “What do you see?” Coco asks, keeping a grip on Tulip’s collar.

Shaking his head, John starts to sweat. “I think they’re raiders.”

“I say we kill them,” Ele suggests, standing while the other two sit.

“ _ What _ ?  _ No _ , we’re  **not** killing them,” John replies, keeping his voice low. “I’m sure they’re civilized enough to negotiate.”

Ele, rolling her eyes, looks down at John. “And if they are not?” He doesn’t answer, feeling his legs shake beneath him. Coco sighs, hugging Tulip close. “I am just saying. Killing them would be far easier than simple talk.”

“What if they shoot her?” Coco asks, tightening her hold of Tulip. “We need to be calm about this; one wrong move and Daisy’s gone  **forever** ,” Looking around the tree, Coco watches the men. “Besides, it’s only been two and a half years, how uncivilized could they be?” One of the Beast Tamers gets into an argument with another one, and it becomes heated very quickly. The arguer then draws a knife and slits the other’s arm, letting it bleed out onto the forest. The two laugh about it as if it were a pat on the back. Coco’s eyes go wide and she retracts her head back. “I stand  _ completely  _ corrected.”

“There has to be a way to reason with them. Maybe we go and…” His voice fades from Ele’s hearing, and she sighs, passing both of them. John tries to tell her to stop, but she’s already far enough. “Oh, God, they’re going to die.”

“It was good while it lasted,” Coco remarks, which makes John sigh loudly and take off his glasses.

Ele marches over to the laughing men, keeping her hands close to her pistol. Her engine begins to pump faster and faster the closer she gets, and she grits her plastic teeth. The men stop and stare as she approaches them, all of them confused over this random android. Masina, noticing Ele too, gets in front of Daisy, readying her gun. “Who brought the ‘bot?” one of the Beast Tamers asks, pointing his thumb at her. Ele narrows her eyes but keeps her formal stance. “Oh, man! It still got the paint! We can sell it to Joe’s and get a profit!“ he exclaims, rubbing his hands all over Ele’s arms and face. She gives him her signature scowl, which confuses him. “Awe, I think I  _ hurt its feelings _ ! Ay, Jackson, didn’t they make the second-gen ones less emotional?” Jackson shrugs, chugging his water canteen. “Guess this one’s faulty,” Ele grumbles, moving her hand slowly to her pistol. “What’s the matter ‘bot, sad I hurt your-” Quickly and gracefully, Ele shoves her pistol into his mouth, holding the back folds of his neck tight.

She pulls him over to show him off to the others. “ **Where is Daisy** ?” She asks, her voice bold and strong. Everyone steps back, silent as a mouse. “If there is no response, I will not hesitate to pull the trigger. I assume you all do not like the sight of splattered brains.” The man begins to panic, and his eyes go wide as he struggles to move. “So I ask you again:  **Where is Daisy** ?”

John, wide-eyed, runs out from behind the tree, and Coco and Tulip follow suit. “ **_Stop_ ** it!” he yells, grabbing her arm. The Beast Tamers, except for Masina who simply watches, draw their weapons, pointing them at the three. John tugs Ele away from the man, which pulls the gun out of the man’s mouth, and he gasps for air. “I said  **_no violence_ ** ! Why don’t you ever listen?” There’s a large commotion between the Beast Tamers and the four ‘scrappers.’

Masina watches back and forth, slowly losing her patience. Daisy, looking up at Masina, runs over to the three, small tears in her eyes. She hugs Ele tight, pulling her away as well. “ **No** hurt!” Tulip begins to growl and bark at the large man, drool pouring out from her snarl.

Soon, Masina grows tired of the entire spat, and she takes her pistol, firing it into the air. “ **Quiet** !” Everyone turns to her, some of them surprised over her sudden change of tone. Holstering her gun, she sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Can we all behave like  _ adults _ ? For  **once** ?” She points to the man, still gasping for air. “You. Go back to the cars,” He tries to speak up, but Masina stares him dead in the eyes. Urgently, he sprints out from the forest, leaving behind a large cloud of dust. “And you three,” She glares at John, Coco, and Ele. “who  _ are  _ you?”

John, standing completely straight, fixes his glasses. “Um… Dr. John Heras?”

Masina shifts her eyes towards Coco, making her stand straight like John. “Dr. Coco Saae-Lim,” She answers, forgetting to say her real first name.

“Then you must be Ele,” Instead of answering her question, Ele simply nods, her scowl still plastered to her face. “Well, it’s good to know you’re not here to kidnap Daisy over there.”

“ _ We _ would kidnap Daisy?!” Coco questions, cocking her eyebrow and leaning over, her hands on her hips. “ _ Y’all  _ actually kidnapped her!”

Masina, putting her hand up in front of Coco’s face, goes back to her warm tone. “We thought she was a thief. Turns out,” She laughs quietly, ruffling Daisy’s hair. “she’s a complete sweetheart.” Daisy blushes and flicks her wrist at her, placing her other hand under her chubby cheek. “She’s a hybrid, and we know someone who would  _ love _ to meet her.”

“Who?” John asks, slowly transitioning to a comfortable posture.

“Queen Telluria of the Alkaline Kingdom,” All five of them become confused; John furrows his eyebrows, Coco cocks hers, Ele huffs, Daisy and Tulip tilt their heads. “What? You haven’t heard of her?” They all shake their heads. “Hoo, you  _ must  _ be new to Maryland’s Aftermath then,” She raises her eyebrows, and gestures for them to follow. “We’ll take you there.”

John raises his hand as if he’s a student in school. “Can we at least grab our supplies back at our camp?”

“Of course! Just show us, and we’ll stop there. Then we’ll head over to the kingdom.” Ele looks down to Daisy, who now has a large smile on her face, and the android grabs her hand, holding it tight. Daisy, a bit surprised, beams more, closing her eyes tight and humming a tune.

Ele helps Daisy into Masina’s car, climbing in herself and sitting right next to her. When one of the Beast Tamers tries to take a seat near, Ele stares him down, reaching for her gun. He immediately backs up, laughing as he gets into the passenger seat. John struggles to find a seatbelt, groaning as he holds on tight to the car door. Coco, taking a seat right next to him, brushes off her skirt and observes around to see John’s somber expression. “Hey,” He perks up at her voice and turns to face her. “You alright?” she asks, a slight smile on her face.

He nods a bit, fixing his glasses and staring straight ahead. “Yes… yes, I’m fine,” She sighs in relief, leaning over and laying her head on his shoulder, causing him to flinch back. Looking all around, John calms down, and slings his arm around her and rests his hand on her shoulder. Watching out the window, he notices the passing browns and faded greens of the plants, and he turns his head back to within the car. Taking a quick glance up from his glasses, he spots one of the Beast Tamers giving him a strange look, which confuses John. Mouthing ‘what,’ John tries to get an answer out from the man, but he simply turns around and goes back to cleaning off one of his traps. John rolls his eyes and focuses his attention back to the window, Coco swiftly drifting to sleep on his shoulder.

After a few hours, the group fell asleep, with the exception of Ele. Ele watches as Masina peeks at the android through the rearview mirror, and her eyes shift to the large walls that surround the interior area. Looking through the windows, Ele notices the collapsing buildings and harbors. “ _ Baltimore _ ?”

“Come again?” Masina asks, adjusting the mirror. Ele repeats herself, keeping her tone low. “Oh, yeah. Do you know about Center Plaza?” Ele slowly nods, moving Daisy off of her. “Well, after the bombs dropped, Queen Blaz established the kingdoms. The plaza is where the Alkaline kingdom is, I’m… not sure where the others are, but we have trade routes that span all over the Aftermath.”

“Why do you call her your queen? Kings and Queens were practically powerless by the start of the thirteenth century.”

Shrugging, Masina plays with her one earring. “I don’t know; it’s more of a symbol, I guess. A society without a leader will lead to chaos, so we have our queens and king,” Ele relaxes in her seat, keeping her eyes on the guards walking up to Masina’s window. They tap on the glass, holstering their weapons. Masina lowers the window, smiling wide at the guard with bright green hair.

“How’s it hanging, Beastie?” One of them yells, leaning her arm on the car.

Laughing, Masina winks at her. “It’s going well! We have some extra cargo too.”

The guard cocks her eyebrows, leaning in to try and see. “ _ Ooooh _ ! Is it a boghog? Or a giant frog?”

Another guard walks up and swings his arm around the first’s neck. “Or maybe it’s one of those Psyches from that lab?” He cackles and examines the other cars.

When the guard spots Ele and Daisy, her eyes go wide. Pulling her head out, she stares at Masina with a confused face. “You brought an  _ android and a child _ ?”

“We also have two scientists.”

“But what about the  _ kid _ ?” She whispers the last word, putting her hands in her pocket. “What’s she for?”

Masina takes a quick look behind her seat, seeing Ele’s stern face staring her down. Turning back to the guard, Masina whispers to her, “ _ She’s a hybrid _ .”

Her eyes flash open wide, and she backs up. “ _ A hybrid, you say _ ?” Chortling, the guard gestures for the people on top of the walls. “Why didn’t you say so? Did ya hear that, boys? Open up the gates!” The rusty gates open up slowly, allowing the Beast Tamers to proceed into the settlement.

Inside the ‘kingdom,’ rows of makeshift homes line the inside of the area, each with a different kind of paint covering them. Small, feeble farms poke out from the dead grass, with all kinds of food growing. Several destroyed buildings line the outside, with various buildings within them. John, slowly opening his eyes, yawns, and looks back outside to see the settlement. He jumps in complete shock, his glasses falling off his face and hitting Coco, waking her up. She rubs her eyes as she sits up, wondering what John is so surprised about. He points outside, and Coco’s eyes go wide. Children play and run around as their parents watch from the homes, but they all stop their activities when the Beast Tamers arrive.

Masina parks her car outside the large metal construct sitting in the middle of the area, stepping outside. Opening the car door, she smiles at Daisy sleeping in Ele’s lap, but Ele continues to stare her down. Masina points to the large construct, and Ele rolls her eyes, holding Daisy close as she gets out. John helps Coco out from the other car and the two walk over to Ele. “ _ What’s going on _ ?” John asks, leaning over to Ele.

“Don’t worry; I’m taking you to see the Queen. She’ll  _ love _ to hear about your little friend-”

“Daisy,” Ele states, her face blank.

Masina chuckles, rubbing her neck as she turns towards the door. “She’ll be super happy to meet her. Trust me,” Knocking exactly three times, Masina steps back away from the door. There’s a sound of a struggle before a meager man appears in the doorway, out of breath.

When he sees Masina, he stands up completely straight, keeping one eye open. “Good morning, Ms. Fanino. Back from your observation so soon?”

She laughs, giving him a bow. “I just  _ had _ to return, sir. There’s someone very special that the Queen should see,” She gestures to a still-sleeping Daisy, who snores echo in the immediate area.

The man cocks his eyebrow, clearly unimpressed with the child. “You brought a  _ child _ ? How special could that be?” he sneers, which causes the other three to get a tad irritated. “But if you insist,” He gestures for them to enter, but blocks the way for John, Coco, and Ele. “Only Ms. Fanino and the child.”

John, baffled, furrows his eyebrows and leans forward. “I’m sorry, but we’re going with Daisy-”

“And you think you should  _ because _ ?”

John goes red and narrows his eyes. “For  _ your information _ ,  _ I _ was one of the lead scientists in the hybrid project, and Ele here was Daisy’s protecting android.”

“What about  _ her _ ?” He points to Coco, who huffs and looks away.

“Dr. Saae-Lim was…” He tries to figure out something that would give Coco significance to Daisy, but being a part of the nuclear department on the other side of the building doesn’t help her case. “Dr. Saae-Lim was a lead designer for the technology involved in developing the hybrids. So  _ there _ ,” He finishes with a large smirk. The man rolls his eyes and allows them all to enter, mumbling under his breath as they go in.

Coco, placing her hand on his shoulder, cocks her eyebrow with a smile. “You know I’m a nuclear engineer, right?” She chuckles, playing with the necklace. “I didn’t even  _ know _ about the hybrid stuff till you told me.”

“Yes, but I wanted you to come too. I couldn’t imagine how boring it would be to wait outside.”

Coco twirls a bit, admiring the luxurious interior. A few beautiful lighting fixtures illuminate the area from the ceiling. Though she scrunches up her face at the tacky carpet designs and laughs as she shuffles her feet across it, which causes John to chortle to himself.

Up the metal stairs, Masina beams as she sees the Queen sitting at the window and staring out of it. Knocking on the wall, Masina chuckles as the Queen quickly turns around and falls over. “Good morning, Queen Telluria!” She greets, walking up the rest of the stairs.

The small and plump Queen fumbles around, laughing loudly as she pushes herself up. Fixing her kinky hair, Telluria gives them a curtsy, taking the ends of her stitched up dress. “Greetings everyone! What a pleasure it is to meet new travelers!” She walks over to Daisy, reaching over to her, which makes Ele move her away. “Oh, my apologies! It is just… this adorable child is such a blessing to the eyes!”

“She’s a  _ hybrid _ , Telluria.”

Her eyes go wide and she raises her eyebrows as she looks all around Daisy’s face, examining the green splotches on her face and seeing a glimpse of the bush. “A  _ hybrid _ ?” John and Coco make eye contact, giving each other confused looks. “Oh, my! What a splendid surprise!” She looks to Ele but shrinks down when the android gives her a death stare. She then glances over to John, smiling wide like a cat. “What is her ability? Crop growth? Water purity? Air purification?”

John, fixing his glasses, answers, “Healing, actually, ma’am; Daisy has, well, daisies that are able to heal any wound-”

Ele interrupts, stating, “The flowers do not heal all the way.”

Telluria, nodding happily, smiles again. “My! What a fascinating ability!” She clasps her hands together, sighing. “And what are  _ your _ names?” They all introduce themselves, and Telluria giggles. “Fantastic!” She then notices how tired the group looks, and she purses her lips. “How long have you all been exploring the Aftermath?”

Coco rolls up her sleeves, a small smile on her face. “A few days, I think.”

“And you have not had a home?” They all shake their heads. “What a shame, here, Masina?” She walks over, leaning down to her level. “Is there a house that is free?”

“I think there’s one near the Masons.”

“Splendid!” The Queen runs over to the desk and rummages around, pulling out a key. Handing it to John, she beams greatly. “You all are welcome in the Alkaline Kingdom! Just be sure to contribute to our little community, and you will fit right in! We welcome  _ all  _ newcomers!” She walks away with Masina, discussing the beasts and various other things.

John stares at the key, furrowing his eyebrows. “Hm, so we live  _ here  _ now, I guess. Is that alright with you all?”

Coco takes the key, staring at it and chuckling. “I’m just glad we’ll finally have actual beds.”

“What about you, Ele?” She shrugs, running her fingers through Daisy’s hair as she snores. “I guess that settles it,” Looking over to the other two, he fixes his glasses. “Are you ready?” There’s no clear response, and John sighs. “Let’s go then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well at least theyre not dead lol


	7. Settling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finally have time to settle down and relax,,, for now

John flips over the piece of paper, looking over the data from the past week’s plants. “Hm, okay. I’ve spent all day observing these crops, and I know  _ exactly  _ what they need,” He stares at the boxes of wilting crops, his hands on his hips. “We’ll have to increase the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels in the soil,” The gardeners tilt their slightly dirt-covered heads, looking at each other for clarification. “We can  _ easily  _ make a rich fertilizer from compost; just find any scraps from meals and,” He looks around and grabs a bucket, holding it in front of him. “collect them in this bucket. Then we’ll spread it out onto the soil. Okay?” They nod their heads reluctantly, and John smiles. “Good. Call me over if you need anything,” He climbs down to the ground level, watching as the sun sets off in the distance. He sighs, walking back to their new makeshift home.

Pushing open the door, he spots Daisy splashing paint on the table, Ele sitting right next to her. Tulip sits nearby, panting loudly as she watches Daisy create her masterpiece. “What’s… going on here?” he asks, putting his hands into his pockets.

“Painting!” She continues to use her hands to paint on the small piece of paper.

“She wanted to paint,” There seems to be a slight smile on Ele’s face, but John makes sure not to mention it.

“I can tell,” He walks to the stairs but pauses before walking up. “Is Cornelia home?”

Ele looks up from her book, sighing. “Yes. She is upstairs.”

He gives her a smile before he goes up. Rolling her eyes, she returns to the book. Daisy makes kissing sounds as she adds the finishing touches on the picture. Holding it upright in Ele’s face, she beams brightly. “Look!”

She puts the book down again, looking over the entire picture. “What is it?”

“It’s us! See,” She points to the man painted in red. “that’s John, and he’s holding Coco’s hand!” She then points to the woman in yellow with a triangle skirt. “And that’s us!” And the final figures are Ele and Daisy, the Ele drawing holding Daisy’s hand with a smile.

Ele tries not to smile and gives her a thumbs up. “It is very nice.”

“Thank you!”

* * *

Coco, folding a few clothes, turns up the radio, Doris Day’s ‘Dream A Little Dream of Me’ playing quietly from it. She hums the tune, placing the clothing onto the bed next to her. Soon, she begins to sing. Her singing voice is far from perfect, but she doesn’t care and continues to perform for nobody. She takes one of John’s shirts, holding it tight in her hands. Standing up, she begins to walk around the barely lit up room, holding the shirt close to her body. She continues to sing quietly to herself, pretending to dance with the invisible body.

John walks up the stairs, his ears perking up when he hears music coming from the room. He sneaks towards the door, putting his ear to the wall. Coco’s singing sends shivers down his spine, and he feels his cheeks warm up quickly. Pushing the door open slightly, he peeks into the room, his curiosity getting the best of him. He tries to lean in closer to listen before falling to the ground, startling Coco. “John!” She tosses the shirt onto the bed and rushes over to turn the radio off. “What… are you doing here? S- shouldn’t you be with the farmers?”

He stands up, brushing off his pants and fixing his glasses. “My work was practically done there. The real question is: What are  _ you _ doing?”

Blushing overtakes her face, and she plays with the necklace. “Just… laundry.” She walks over and crumbles up his shirt, which he notes, but doesn’t mention. Sighing, she sits on the bed, resting her chin on her hands. “Sorry, you shouldn’t have heard  _ any _ of that.”

He sits beside her, trying to see her face. “You don’t need to apologize; I love your singing.”

“You do?” She asks, pushing hair away from her eyes. He nods, a small smile on his face. There’s an unbearable tension in the air, and in an instant, she kisses his lips. John’s eyes go wide, and he leans in closer. Quickly, she pulls away, covering her face with her hands. “Sorry! Sorry! I know you don’t like being touched- I-it’s just…”

“Cornelia-”

“I’m sorry! I- It was just so sudden and…”

“Cornelia,” His soft tone puts a halt in her rambling apologies. He places his hand on her own, slowly pulling them away from her face. “It’s fine.”

“It… is?” He nods, and she smiles, closing the gap between them. “Can… we do it again?”

Chuckling, he nods. “Of course.” The two laugh as they continue to indulge in their affection, rolling over on the bed.

Laying under the covers, John stares up at the ceiling. Instead of that familiar cold feeling, he feels the warmth radiating in the room, and turning over, he can see the source of the heat. Coco sleeps peacefully, the blanket barely covering her now exposed chest. He brushes the hair away and tucks the strands behind her ear, admiring her calm expression. “ _ Que suertudo soy _ ,” He whispers, planting a quick kiss on her forehead before getting up. Walking over to the desk, he notices a mirror sitting on top. He looks at himself from the reflection, running his finger over his laugh lines, and sighing. Observing the room around him, he feels the darkness growing closer in towards him. There’s a sense of anxiety as he watches his reflection distort in the mirror, and his breathing increases. Vines that he cannot identify as real or imaginary begin to grow over his wrists and throat, making it dangerously hard to breathe. Someone calls from the darkness, and he snaps his head to see nothing.

“John?”

He suddenly sees Coco and drops the mirror out of fright. “ _ ¡Válgame Dios! _ ” he yell-whispers, covering his mouth. “ _ Sorry _ .” Looking down with wide eyes, he notices the absence of the organic chains.

She sits up, holding the blanket over her chest. “It’s fine; wasn’t  _ my  _ mirror anyway. Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m… fine.”

“You sure?” He nods, rubbing his neck. “Come here,” She beckons for him to sit down on the bed, which he slowly does. When he sits down on the edge, Coco comes up behind him, carefully wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. There’s pure silence as the two sit there in peace, Coco rubbing her thumb over his calloused hands. “You know I’m here if you wanna talk. I’ll  _ always  _ listen.”

He sighs, looking down at her hand. “I’m sorry. I… keep worrying you.”

“It’s not worrying; I just care about you,” Her eyes drift from in front of her towards his hair, noticing faint scars slightly covered by the strands. “and I hate seeing you hurt.” She sighs, closing her eyes and listening to his heartbeat. There’s pure silence, but it doesn’t bother them; they listen to each other’s in-sync breathing. With a slight smile on her face, Coco says, “I love you,” She places a quick kiss on his cheek, making his cheeks warm up.

She pulls away and slips back under the covers, drifting away to sleep. John, sitting completely still, slowly develops a smile on his own face. Laying down, he gently pulls her close to him, wrapping his arms around her. “I love you too,” He whispers back.

* * *

Telluria rushes down the stairs, holding her dress’ ends up, as someone pounds on the door. Before the butler can open it, a figure bursts in, knocking him down. “ **Tiana** !” she yells, holding her sunglasses by the temple. Telluria hops off the last step, skipping over to the figure.

Attempting to hug her, she holds her arms out. “Blaz! How pleasant it is to-”

Blaz pushes her away, grumbling under her breath. Playing with her lip piercing, she asks, “I’m not here for hugs; I’m here about the radio message,” Strutting farther in, Blaz grips the bridge of her nose, sighing loud enough for all to hear. “This better not be a joke, you know I  **_hate_ ** that shi- stuff,” Tiana doesn’t say a word, but she simply looks up to her with a large cat-like smile. “What? Oh God, this isn’t some kinda  _ family reunion _ like the last time, right? I had a ‘bot fight tonight; there was an old sciencey ‘bot dropped off, and I’m missing out!”

“Oh, my dear sister, there is something even greater than a robot arena!” Blaz cocks her eyebrow, staring down the small queen. Telluria beckons her to lean down, and she whispers, “ _ I found a  _ hybrid!”

Throwing her eyebrows up, Blaz makes an inaudible noise. “A  _ hybrid _ ? You’re joking,” Telluria rapidly shakes her head, her smile growing larger. “ _ Seriously _ ?”

“She has  _ healing powers _ ! She healed one of my Beast Tamers’ arms!”

“Did ya get her at the C.D.S.H.?”

Telluria motions for Blaz to follow her back to the foyer. “No, no, she was brought in by her family.”

“Is she still here?” Telluria nods again, fixing her dress’ folds. Mumbling to herself, Blaz heads for the entrance. “Alright, I’m coming for her tomorrow.”

Bewildered, Telluria closes the door before Blaz can leave, staring up with a pouty face. “You cannot go  _ now _ !” Blaz, furrowing her eyebrows, puts her hands on her hips. “They are  _ sleeping _ ; sleep is a vital element for survival.”

Rolling her eyes, Blaz drags the door open again, and groans. “ **_Fine_ ** . I’ll be back in the morning, so I don’t  _ wake them from their beauty sleep _ ,” Before she leaves, she looks back, narrowing her eyes. “Make sure the gate’s unlocked when they get here. So help me, if I find your little goons outside those doors-” She slides her finger across her neck, making a sound from the back of her throat. She slams the door, leaving Telluria to her thoughts.

Sighing, she pulls her dress up as she hops up the stairs. “Oh, dear,” she mumbles, covering her mouth as she runs to her room.

* * *

John, yawning and stretching, gets up from the bed, pulling the blanket off with him. Coco groans and mumbles as she rolls over to her other side, taking the blanket and wrapping it tightly around her. He shuffles through the clothing sitting on top of the desk, snatching his outfit for the day, and putting it on lazily. Fixing his glasses, he looks over to Coco’s sleeping figure and smiles small. He gently shakes her, and she responds with mumbles. “Come on, Cornelia, you have to wake up,” She resentfully opens her eyes, stretching out over the entire bed. John places her clothes on the sheets and stands in the doorway, waiting for her to sit up. “I’ll be downstairs, then we can discuss today’s plans, okay?” She holds up her thumb and tries to get out of bed, her hair sticking up in a tangled mess.

Walking downstairs, John sighs lovingly, thinking only about Coco. His peaceful thoughts are interrupted, however, by a mess in the kitchen. A large puddle of water spreads all over the floor, with various chunks of food in it. Glancing up from the river of vile, he notices the tiny child standing on top of the counter, pouring out a box of old cereal for Tulip to catch. Ele, unbothered by the chaos, sits nearby and watches it unfold with a slight smile. “What’s… going on here?” he asks, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Breakfast!” Daisy exclaims with a large smile on her face. Tulip barks and jumps up onto the counter, taking the box from Daisy and running off to a corner of the house. “Oh no,” She struggles to get off the counter, her feet barely touching the wooden floor. Coco, pulling the collar of her shirt up, does a double-take before she tries to open up the cabinets.

“Oh, sweet, breakfast,” She gives a smug smile as she watches a few pieces of cereal float down the river.

Rolling his eyes, John looks around for a towel or anything that could clean up the mess. As the others ‘clean’ up the mess with rags and more water, there’s a knock on the door, and John walks over. Opening the door, two tall figures loom over him, their outfits made from various metals and shards of glass. His glasses fall to the edge of his nose, and his eyes go wide. “Can… I help you?”

Exhaling hard, one of the figures leans down, his breathing hitting John right in the face. “We  **_want_ ** the hybrid.”

Without hesitation, John slams the door on the figures and backs away, his eyes still wider than the moon. Coco, looking up from the little boat she crafted from paper, cocks her eyebrow and laughs to herself. “Everything alright, Buttercup?” John walks stiffly and sits down across from Ele, which makes the android quietly scoot away. Shaking her head, Coco makes her way towards the front door, tossing her paper boat onto the table. She opens it up, sees the figures, and closes it immediately. “Yeah, nevermind,” She gets close to John and whispers, “ _ Maybe if we ignore them, they’ll go away _ .”

Ele, fed up, goes to the door and stares the figures right in the eyes. “What do you want?” she questions, nearly breaking the wood of the door with her grasp.

Leaning in close to her annoyed face, he growls, “The  **hybrid** ,  **_now_ ** ,” He tries pushing her aside, but she grabs his wrist tightly, nearly breaking his carpals. Quietly hissing, the man tries to free himself from her grip, which makes her tighten her grip.

“I suggest you leave before I rip out your  **entire** skeleton.” The man’s eyes shift from Ele to Daisy and back, causing her to increase the pressure. “Now, go along on your merry-” Suddenly, Ele is thrust towards the ground by the butt of a shotgun. Her face slams onto the floor, cracking slightly as paint chips away like dust. John springs to his feet, and Coco steps back, blocking Daisy with her own body. Ele doesn’t move, her circuits malfunctioning and slightly sparking.

The two figures slink into the house, keeping their eyes on the small, terrified child. Daisy sinks down into her sweater, keeping her focus on Ele’s nearly lifeless body, feeling tears form under her eyelids. The figure limps closer to her, grumbling under his breath and he holds his wrist in his hand. John, struggling to breathe, spots a soda bottle inside the trash can nearby, and he dives to reach it. Smashing it against the counter, he jumps in front of the man and creates a gash over the man’s eye, causing him to fall back. John’s hand with the bottle shakes tremendously, and he attempts to attack again but is thrown back by the female figure. His back cracks against the counter, and he can feel blood slowly pouring from his nostrils. Tulip barks and growls, trying to find a moment perfect enough for a bite. She finds it and sinks her teeth into the figure’s ankle, but she isn’t fazed by it and kicks her away. Coco, yelling, punches the man in the face relentlessly. “Eat  **_shit_ ** !” she screams, stepping on his foot hard. The woman snatches her arm. John, slowly standing up, grips his bloody shoulder, and he goes back into the fight.

Daisy, absolutely horrified and feeling her head spin, exclaims, “ **Stop** !” Everyone stops, surprisingly, and waits for the child to speak. “No hurting!” The woman lets go of Coco, and the man pushes John away again. “I’ll go.”

“ _ Daisy _ ,  _ no _ ,” John hisses, smearing the blood away from his nose.

“ _ What are you  _ doing?” Rushing over to John, Coco gives him her support under her arms.

The small child walks up to the figures, furrowing her eyebrows and crossing her arms. The figures try to take her, but she backs up. “But,” She raises a finger, sticking her tongue out a little. “my family goes too.”

Rolling his eyes, the male figure chuckles raspily. “Oh,  **_of course_ ** ,  **_sweetheart_ ** !” He places his hands under his chin, which makes the small child smile. But he immediately goes back to frowning, mocking her, “We’ll just be on our  _ merry way _ ,” John furrows his eyebrows, grumbling under his breath, and Coco rolls her eyes at the raider. “The Queen told us to get ya, so  **_we’re getting ya_ ** ,” Daisy reaches in and pulls out a flower, preparing to crush them as she narrows her eyes. The man begins to panic, waving his hands around. “Okay, okay!  **Stop** ! We’ll bring them, just- just don’t crush the flower,  **_please_ ** ,” Daisy leans over to see John and Coco, beaming wide and bright. With slight smiles, John sighs, and Coco quietly laughs to herself.

The male figure struggles to place Ele in the seat next to Daisy, slamming the door when he gets her in. Large nets hang on the side of the car, holding various weapons and other items. The two figures sit in the front, ignoring the others in the back with only slight mumbling coming from the two of them. Daisy kicks her legs back and forth, smiling at Ele’s blank face as if she is still awake. Tulip hops in, nearly crushing John’s legs and causing him to groan loudly, which makes Coco laugh. Tulip lays on the ground, providing a place for Daisy’s moving legs. Looking over to Ele, fear and dread begin to pile up in the small child’s mind, and she slowly pulls out a flower and places it on top of the exposed wiring. Nothing but sparks come from the android, and Daisy leans against her cold torso, holding tight onto her hand. The flower on top of her head shrivels up into ash. Tulip, noticing Daisy’s somber mood, lifts her head up and licks the child’s face, making her giggle excessively.

Pulling out a handkerchief and pouring a bit of water onto it, Coco begins to clean up the blood coming out from John’s nose. She smiles small, looking down at his hand, and she takes it into her own. Once she finishes, she leans onto him, laughing to herself. “You were  _ quite _ heroic back there, Buttercup.”

“I don’t think it was… heroic; I was just doing what needed to be done,” He rests his head on hers, sighing. “I wanted to protect Daisy.”

Coco’s eyes shift over to the small child, smiling again. “Well, I’m glad she’s safe.”

John, looking down, notices the red splotch again. Pushing her hair away, he sees just how much the wound had spread up her neck. “Cornelia…” She slowly opens her eyes, glancing up at him. “What… is this?” He points at the wound, and she quickly places her hair over it again. “ _ Did they put their hands on you _ ?” 

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Her tone is strangely harsh, and John drops the subject, but his mind continues to race with questions regarding the burn.

A few hours go by, and the sun sets in the cloudy skies of the Aftermath. John and Coco watch the crumbled buildings pass by, and Daisy wakes up from her nap. Coco moves around under John and notices the large stadium growing closer, and her eyes go wide. “John, John!” He snaps out from his trance and furrows his eyebrows. “ _ Look _ !” She takes his head and moves it so he can see the stadium too.

“Oh, Lord!” he exclaims, stars in his eyes. Daisy immediately sits up, dazed, and confused as she looks around for what they’re awing at. He glances over at Daisy’s squinting face and laughs. “Do you know what that is, Daisy?” She shakes her head, sticking her tongue out. “Municipal Stadium. What a marvelous sight,” He sighs and closes his eyes, resting his hand over his heart. Coco tries to look around more, pushing down on John’s stomach and making him groan.

Blinking slowly, Daisy moves her head out from her sweater collar. “What is that?”

“It was for baseball,” he states, fixing his glasses and moving Coco off of him. “Cornelia and I would go when we were younger and watch any game we could.”

Sitting up, Coco laughs. “John  _ always _ insisted that we go, and it was so  _ fun _ ,” She places a small kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush heavily and chuckle. Daisy’s eyebrows fly up, and she tries to think of a reason for what just happened, but she can’t wrap her head around it. “Do you remember the game in ‘44?” She stifles a laugh, covering her mouth.

He playfully groans and smiles. “Ah, yes,  _ what a game _ .”

The figures pull into the city, parking the car against a tall, metal wall. The city is made entirely from scrap, with parts of it extending out beyond the ruined stadium. Small, humble houses lay in tight rows that create hundreds of thousands of alleyways filled with merchants and other raiders. The two raiders walk off with their heads low as they make their way to the center of the city. John struggles a bit while taking Ele out from the car, but he manages to do it and carries her under his arm. Hopping out, Daisy stares in awe over the city, completely still with an open mouth. The raiders shove her slightly forward, continuing to grumble to themselves.

The female raider grabs Ele and throws her into a wheelbarrow and takes her through the maze of homes. Daisy tries to go with her, but John takes her by the hand and continues their little journey, much to Daisy’s anxiety. She watches as Ele slowly disappears into the many alleys, trying to grab onto her hand but touching nothing.

The center of the city looks like something straight from an underground fight club; small groups of raiders are scattered about, fighting each other both physically and verbally. Blood splatters are common, making the floor sticky and hard to walk through. As one raider is suckerpunched, John covers Daisy’s eyes, wincing over the violence. Tulip, without a care in the world, strides through the crowds with them, panting loud and proud as her tail wags fast. Coco notices John’s uneasiness and holds his hand, smiling at him warmly. When they pass through, the raiders slowly stop their fighting to stare at them with crazed eyes.

The male raider figure stops in front of a large stage created by various metals, a spiky and blade-covered throne resting on top. Crowds of raiders surround the four. Suddenly, floodlights turn on and maneuver over to a figure sitting on the throne. “Well, well, well,” the figure calls out, uncrossing her legs. “I’m so  **_glad_ ** you could make it,” Standing up, she puts her sunglasses on top of her head, glaring down at the others with narrow eyes. “We’ve been  **_dying_ ** to meet you all, especially your little  **_friend_ ** there,” She points directly at Daisy, causing the small child to sink down. The crowd begins to murmur amongst themselves, irritating Blaz to the point where she snatches a metal pipe from a pile. She bangs it onto the flooring of her stage, creating a blaring sound and getting the attention of everyone around. “ **_Quiet_ ** you animals!” she screeches, tossing the pipe aside and staring the four down. “I hope you  _ enjoyed _ your ride,” She stares at the injuries on their faces, a small smirk creeping onto her own. “ **_Loving_ ** the bruises and blood, by the way. It makes you fit in  **_even more_ ** !” Her voice echoes throughout the center, sending shivers down the four’s spines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ihuyftdcrcf ghb7ty6fdrcfgvhbijnokiubh a *big heart eyes*


	8. Reuniting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The raider kingdom is certainly one to be feared.

“You know, Telluria didn’t tell me _enough_ about you all; I mean come on: Mr. Poindexter over here’s glasses might as well be two microscopes over his eyes,” She cackles, and the other raiders laugh as well. John scoffs, fixing said glasses with a scowl. “Oh, and girlie,” Coco looks around and points to herself, cocking her eyebrow. “Yeah you, Leslie Gore called, she wants her hairstyle **back**!” She snorts and doubles over, small tears coming out from her eyes. Coco huffs, putting her hair up into a ponytail. “Oh, and hello there, little one! Didn’t see you with that ant blocking the way!” With one last guffaw, she nearly falls backward, causing the raiders to roar with laughter. The four stand there, utterly confused. John crosses his arms and huffs, looking at the others.

John leans over to Coco and Daisy, whispering, “ _Once we’re done here, we’ll go get Ele and get back to our semi-normal lives. How does that sound_?” The two nod, Daisy holding on tight to Tulip.

Wiping her eyes, Blaz slowly stops laughing, playing with her lip piercing. She stomps on the ground, grabbing the attention of everyone. “Alright, you scrappers, we got some doctors in _dire_ need of some examinations,” She snaps her fingers, commanding a couple of raiders to escort the four to the medical center. “Take ‘em to it, alright?” Blaz takes a seat again, closing her eyes. Opening one of them, she notices that everyone’s staring at her. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go hog **wild**!” The raiders cheer, going back to their savage violence as Blaz watches contently.

* * *

The doctor comes back into the room, reading over the several notes on the few pieces of paper on the clipboard. Daisy kicks her legs back and forth, using her fingers to dance on top of them. John sits up as the doctor passes by, fixing his glasses. “How did the tests go?”

She raises her eyebrows, pursing her lips. “Well… they’re rather interesting,” Coco stirs in her seat, placing the wooden splint in her mouth and keeping it in there. “Firstly, from her blood tests, we found that she has an _enormous_ amount of glucose within her bloodstream.” Coco cocks her eyebrow, tossing the splint into the trash and looking over to John’s smug face. “Secondly, we did an endoscopy, and… she doesn’t appear to have a digestive system; no stomach, no intestines, nothing.”

John sticks a finger up in the air. “Daisy creates food through photosynthesis, mostly by her flowers or the green splotches, so no need for a stomach.” He closes his eyes and sits back, thinking excitedly about the facts he can spew about Daisy’s anatomy. 

The doctor, however, is not impressed; she rolls her eyes, sighing. “I’m well aware of her ‘plant powers’, Dr. Heras. I was just not prepared to find that she had _no_ digestive organs.” She flips to another page, and John’s face droops as he looks away. “Another important note from the endoscopy, her heart… is connected to the bush of flowers.”

“Connected… how?” Coco asks, leaning forward in anticipation of the answer.

“The roots of her flowers are wrapped around her heart, some even going within. It’s… fascinating to say the least.” They look over to Daisy giggling as Tulip licks her face. The doctor sighs, writing a few more notes.

John stands up, looking over to the small child. “Are the results satisfactory?”

“Hm?” She looks up, fixing her hair. “Oh, of course; she’s a hybrid, and I wasn’t expecting her to _look_ like a human. In fact, I find it surprising you and your team were able to keep her _alive_.” Daisy overhears the conversation and frowns slightly, sinking a bit into her sweater. “Though I am concerned about the hybrid’s nutrient intake. Could you provide some data from the experiments?”

John beams, preparing to spew out all the facts and information he has on Daisy. The small child hears every number and grows confused, and each time they refer to her as a ‘hybrid,’ she sinks further down. Quietly and slowly, Daisy sneaks outside, but Coco notices. Glancing back and forth between John and the doctor, Coco follows Daisy outside.

Lights flicker outside, and distant screams echo from an unknown location. Coco searches around for the small child, looking under every rock for her. Behind the clinic, she finds Daisy, tucked, and completely sunk into her sweater. “Daisy? What are you doing here?” There’s no answer; only quiet sniffles come from the child. Lowering her eyebrows, Coco sighs sadly. Sitting down beside her, Coco watches a few rats scurry around far in front of her. “Here, come here,” Slowly, Coco takes Daisy and places her into her lap, combing her hand through her thick hair. “Don’t listen to those nerds; you’re _more_ human than the rest of us.” Daisy gives a harsh mumble as a response. Lowering her head, Coco sighs, a slight smile on her face. “Between you and me, I’m not really all _that_ human either.”

“Really?” She mumbles in her sweater.

“Really. We can be non-human buddies. Would you like that?” She can feel a slight nod in the sweater, and she quietly laughs. Like a turtle, Daisy raises her head out, staring at the red splotch on her neck. Out of impulse, she takes a flower and tries placing it on the wound, but Coco moves her neck away.

The two sit there for a little while. Coco continues to try and comb through Daisy’s hair, but its thick tangles make it harder to do so. She notices the hair tie and slides it off. Still struggling, she begins to braid her hair, which scares Daisy. “What… are you doing?”

Snapping out from her trance, Coco quietly laughs. “Don’t worry, hon’, I’m just doing your hair.” She hums a song as she does her hair, her smile stretching from ear to ear. Separating a few strands, Coco hands her both of them, and she holds it tight. Daisy bounces slowly to the tune of the song Coco’s singing, wiping away her tiny tears with her elbow. Coco, looking over to see Daisy’s incredibly happy face, chuckles, putting the finishing touches on her hair. “Liking the song?”

Daisy nods fast, sniffling as she smiles wide. “Yes! Yes! Again!”

She ties the end of the braid, fluffing up the unbraided hair. “Maybe later, hon’, John’s probably looking for us.” Trying to stand up, her efforts are fruitless, as Daisy refuses to go inside. Looking at the exit of the alley, Coco sits back down, allowing Daisy to cuddle close to her. She holds the child close, resting her chin on the top of her head. She sighs, closing her eyes and resting her back against the wall. “Daisy,” The child’s eyes open slightly, and she raises her head to look at the tears falling from Coco’s eyes. “I promise… to keep you safe, even… if I die doing so.”

Daisy frowns and holds her arm tightly. “No dying.”

“Right…” Sighing, she drifts off into sleep, rubbing Daisy’s back in a circular motion. “No dying.” 

John, running out from the clinic, panics as he tries to find the other two. Peeking around the corner, he spots the two of them sleeping against the wall. He sighs and wakes them up, helping the two of them inside. Once they go in, John stays outside, shivering from the cold, sharp afternoon air. Turning around, he goes down an alley, disappearing into the darkness.

* * *

With slowly opening eyes, Ele’s limbs feel incredibly heavy, and she struggles to sit up. Muffled and incoherent cheering comes from beyond the walls, their volume increasing when loud metallic sounds boom. A small light swings from a lamp on the ceiling, providing the only way to see in the room. Ele, feeling utterly dizzy, sits up, observing the cramped area around her. Large boxes, full of mutilated robotic parts, are strewn about, with their contents nearly spilling out of them. Arms, legs, even heads are displayed like trophies on shelves. The vacant stares of the severed heads send shivers down Ele’s robotic spine. Walking through the room, she almost trips over a mutilated arm, causing her to groan and kick it away. She passes by a shattered mirror, but stops and observes herself, noticing a lack of synthetic hair on one side of her head. Instead, a slab of discolored plastic is plastered to her, covering the hole with the exposed wiring. Grumbling, she continues to explore.

Crewd drawings of raiders decorate the walls, often depicting them decapitating androids. To make matters worse, one of those mutilated androids sits upon a table right in front of Ele, their circuits and wiring spilling out from their body. Completely disgusted, she tries to find a way out, looking everywhere for a door. But the only exit is a large garage door painted with skulls. She limps over, placing her hand on the metal, feeling the vibrations of all the chaos on the other side. There doesn’t appear to be any sort of button, but Ele is undeterred and continues her search.

Behind her, sounds of metal hitting metal boom, and Ele freezes. Another sound, one of tin cans, erupts, and Ele spins around. Holding her arms out like she had her pistol, she tries to fire at the shadowy figure. He puts his arms up, his robotic eyes wide open. “Woah, woah! Calm down!” He steps out from the darkness, revealing himself as an android like her, only more worn out and busted. He has large wires coming out from his head that rest on his shoulders. “I ain’t here to hurt you.”

Growling, Ele sneers, “State your unit identification. **Now**.”

He rolls his eyes, sighing as he answers, “Unit 11212. But please, call me Alloy.” She lowers her arms, narrowing her eyes at him. Moving closer, he keeps his hands in the air and smiles. “Glad to see a functioning android around. Normally, you’d be scrapped and sold for parts.” He chuckles but gradually comes to a stop, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Looking all around her, she feels her engine speed up. She takes him by the collar, staring him right in the eyes. “ **Where** am I? **Where** is Daisy?”

He cocks his plastic eyebrow, stifling a laugh. “I’m sorry, doll, but who?” She throws him down, scowling as she walks away. 

“Hey,” She glares at him, pushing over a box and looking under it. “you haven’t introduced yourself yet.”

Huffing, she throws the box to the side. “ **Ele**.”

“Ele? Huh, nice name. Did you pick it?” She shakes her head, still tossing over boxes. He saunters over, reaching towards her slowly. “You don’t have to freak out, Ele,” She walks past him, throwing junk aside, her engine speeding up even more. “Hey, hey,” He leans down, placing his hand on her shoulder, smiling small. “Don’t worry, doll, we’re in the repair shack.”

“Then… what is outside? All the noise?”

“Oh!” His eyebrows go up, and he chuckles while rubbing his neck. “That’s just the Bot Fight.”

Ele begins to panic, nearly falling backward onto the pile of junk. “Why would saying that make me feel better?”

He waves his hands around, quieting her down. Whispering, he gives her a toothy smile. “ _I’m just in time, doll_ ! I’m here to get you out.” She moves her head back, staring down at him with narrow eyes. “I come here _all_ the time, finding androids like you, and I get them out.” He extends his arms out by his side, his galvanized face beaming brightly as Ele glares at him.

“Wait,” She notices the symbol stitched onto the side of his arm, a small gear with a fist behind it. “Oh **_no_ **.” She walks away, mumbling under her breath, which confuses Alloy greatly.

Running after her, his mind fills with a multitude of questions. “What? Was it something I said?”

“It is related to your badge.”

He takes off his jacket and examines the badge, but he doesn’t find anything wrong with it. “What about it?”

She groans, picking at the plastic on her head. “You were a **rebel**.” His eyes go wide and he sticks his hands into his pockets.

Standing next to her, he looks up with a slight, crooked smile. “You have a problem with the rebellion, doll?”

“There were too _many_ problems with it.” She makes a disgusted sound and pounds on a locker, leaving a small dent. “I do not **need** your help.” 

Putting his jacket back on, he closes his eyes with his eyebrows raised. “Care to tell me why an independent _android_ , such as yourself, would hate the _rebellion_?”

“It was completely idiotic; you all ruined your chance at a prosperous future.”

“You might have a point, doll, but think about it,” He leans over, patting her back without hesitation. “without us, you wouldn’t be here.” Pointing to a blocked off door, he tugs her to follow, which she begrudgingly does.

The android barracks aren’t any better than the repair section. Piles of bodies are scattered on various tables, completely void of life. Alloy steps over multiple limbs, muttering apologies to them. Ele, feeling watched, feels her engine rile up once again, but she ignores its pumping. The room is deathly silent, the only sound coming from Alloy’s mourning. Ele stops in her tracks, staring directly at an android laying on the ground. Her mind whirs, and she remembers. Before she can turn her over, the garage door opens, and Alloy grabs her arm and pulls her behind a shelf. The two are uncomfortably close to one another, which causes her to stir around, still watching the android. “ _I need to get her_.” She tries to leave, but Alloy pulls her back, covering her mouth and hushing her. A raider bursts into the room, scanning the area with a single eye. Strutting inside, she examines each robot, checking to see if they can function well enough. She places her hand on the android Ele was watching, making Ele stir even more.

Growing more and more frustrated, Ele struggles to get out of Alloy’s grasp. One wrong move and she falls to the ground, alerting the raider. Ele, panicking internally, pretends to be malfunctioning, convulsing on the ground, and refusing to respond to the raider’s belittlement. Picking her up by her uniform’s collar, the raider stares right into her eyes. Shrugging, she calls for another raider, and the two of them drag Ele and the other android outside. Alloy stays back, watching from a distance. He slowly gets out from the hiding spot and sneaks over to the garage door, looking around for Ele.

The outside is a poorly constructed arena with a floor made completely out of dirt and dust. Crowds of raiders sit in the ruined seats, screaming like they were being murdered right then and there. Cold and dry air blows through, creating miniature dust storms across the arena floor. The two raiders from the repair shack throw the two androids onto the floor, and they both run up to the slightly busted megaphone. The female raider turns it on, creating an ear-piercing sound that echoes off the makeshift walls. The crowd slowly becomes quieter, allowing her to speak. “Welcome to round three of the Bot Fight!” Everyone cheers, almost falling out from their seats. “On this side, we have the Beaters!” Growing restless, several members of the group hold onto their bats tight, drool pouring out from their mouths. The horde screams, firing their guns into the air without a care in the world. “And on this side, we have the ‘bots!” Booing, cans are thrown at the two androids, making Ele more and more annoyed. Standing up, Ele stares down the raiders, which confuses all of them.

“ **Quiet** !” Calming down, the mob watches in anticipation. “You there,” She points at the raider with the megaphone, a large scowl on her face. “If I can defeat these _animals_ , I will take the android.”

“And if you **_lose_ **?”

She lowers her head. “Then you can scrap me for parts.”

The raider looks over to the Beaters with a cocked eyebrow. They give her a few cackles and a thumbs up, which is good enough for her. Raising her eyebrows, she agrees, “ _Shit_ , go ahead, ‘bot. **_Have fun_ **.” She throws up a bomb, signaling the start of the fight, and the Beaters rush over as they drag their bats on the ground.

She rolls her eyes, readying her fists. Before she can punch, a _clang_ rings out, and Ele falls to the ground. They continue to beat on her, terrifying Alloy as he watches from afar. Ele, pinned to the ground by their boots, struggles to move. Without hesitation, one of them bashes her head multiple times, exposing the wires once more. Another one raises his bat, and the other two scream, “Do it! **Do it**!” Narrowing her eyes, she notices his exposed torso, and she kicks him right in the middle of it. He screams out in pain, doubling over. Throwing the other two off, Ele reaches for the bat.

She rams the side of the bat into the back of the raider’s head, causing him to fall unconscious. In a fit of rage, Ele continues to strike him, kicking him over and seeing the blood pool out from his nose and mouth. The other two attackers step back with wide eyes and agape mouths. Everyone in the arena goes wild; they all scream and fire their guns again, nearly losing their minds. Glaring at the two, Ele hurls the bat at the ground, shoving the exposed wires back inside her. With a gravelly voice, she commands, “The android. **Now**.” They nod rapidly, awkwardly smiling and covering their torsos. As the crowd yells for more, Ele carries the body back inside the repair shack.

Alloy runs up to her, excited with stars in his eyes. “That- that was incredible, doll! The way you just took that guy’s bat? You’re a natural!”

She places the android onto the table, focusing on the one broken eye. “I was made for fighting; of course I am a ‘ _natural_.’”

He walks over, observing the rather formal attire of the android. “Why this one?” He accidentally pulls off a magnetic earring and quickly sticks it back on. “Was she a friend?” Ele doesn’t respond, and she tries to find something to fix the wiring. “Sister?”

“Just,” She looks at him with saddened eyes, confusing Alloy. “help me.” He nods, scrambling to find some cables. Searching inside a box in the back, he pulls out some and rushes over to Ele. He holds them out towards her, and she takes one end. Plugging the cable into the power outlet, she tries to plug it into herself, which Alloy notices. He moves Ele’s uniform collar and sticks the cable inside, causing her to bend over. Electricity flows from her to the android body, slowly bringing the android back to life. When the android’s eye begins to glow, Alloy swiftly unplugs Ele from her, snapping her out from her energy-transfer mode. Ele, watching in awe as the body sits up, collapses into her arms, holding her vest tight. “You are back! I missed you so much!”

“Women end up digesting most of the lipstick they apply!” The comment shocks Ele, and she moves back, staring at the android with scared eyes.

“What?” She asks, still holding onto her arms. “Peri, are you okay? Do you remember me?”

Peri doesn’t move, instead, she just replies with, “A shrimp's heart is in its head!”

“No. No, no, **no**!” She cries out, feeling her engine speed up again. Water from her coolant system starts to flow out from her eyes, and she lowers her head onto Peri’s lap. Alloy sits next to her, patting her back gently. “I do not understand. What is wrong with her?”

He shakes his head, staring at Peri’s broken eye and the many cracks that stem from it. “Do you remember what happened before? Maybe that’ll help us fix her.” Ele struggles to remember, trying to bring her memories back to the forefront. The three stay there for a little while, Ele finally remembering and explaining it to Alloy.

* * *

A can flies down the alley, bouncing off the wall. John kicks it again, watching its lopsided roll. Shoving his hands into his pockets, John huffs, feeling a great deal of tension behind his forehead. He looks up and stares at the afternoon sky, the colors slowly shifting to night. The makeshift walls of the alleys give him claustrophobia, and he tries to make his way back. As he walks towards the clinic, he passes by a dirty window. His head aches horribly, making him grip the left side of his head. He tries to move away, but his eyes catch sight of the scars slightly hidden by his hair. Sounds of shattered glass reverberate inside his mind, worsening his massive headache. Feeling his breath and heartbeat quicken, he instantly punches the glass, screaming out in pain. He slowly opens his hand, shards of glass falling out while some stay within his skin.

Picking out a few large pieces, he stares at the wounds and begins to feel nauseous. And without thinking, he throws up on the side of the alley, resting his other hand against the wall. His legs go weak, and he finally picks out the largest pieces, leaving the tiniest shards inside. As he tries regaining his awareness, he’s alerted by a few figures running down the alley. Squinting hard, he figures out who it is. “ _Ele_?” He wipes his mouth as Ele and Alloy rush over to him. When they approach him, he notes an unknown android, Ele’s countless injuries, and this new mysterious figure. Ele begs for John to find Coco, which he quickly agrees to.

* * *

Coco examines Peri, looking deep inside her circuits and pulling out a few wires. “Just as I thought.” She pulls her head back, wiping her forehead. “She’s been tampered with, alright.”

“Tampered how?” John asks, trying to not look at Peri’s bright, orange hair. Each time he sees it, he feels his heartbeat quicken.

“Well, I’m no robotic engineer, _but_ it’s clear that her CPU’s been messed with. I mean- it’s just a mess in there.”

Daisy reaches up and looks inside to see a tangled mess of wires and various circuitry. Glancing back at Ele, she asks, “What was her name?”

She sighs, pulling Daisy away and taking her place. “Her name was Peri.”

“ _Peri_ ?” John questions, which makes Ele glare at him, shooting daggers from her eyes. “I- I mean no offense, of course. But _who_ was she? Some sort of…?”

Ele, sitting down on the box next to the wall, rests her head in her hand. “She was a chemist’s assistant; Dr. Fletcher’s I believe.” Daisy hops over, patting her back with a slight frown.

“Dr. Fletcher.” He raises his eyebrows, mumbling under his breath. “I wonder if she was a part of the rebellion. Alloy?” Alloy looks up from his adoration of Tulip, his eyes flickering like broken light bulbs.

Standing up, he rubs his neck and looks away. “Can’t say I’ve seen her around the slums.”

Examining Peri’s broken eye, John hums to himself, accidentally letting her paint flake off. Ele begins to fume, shifting around in her seat. “Maybe she was an inside job, an agent of-”

“ **She was not a rebel**!” She snaps, startling everyone around. She stands up, slowly calming down as her engine pumps more and her mind whirs. Resting her back against the wall, she holds her face in her hand. “She was… impulsive, hyperactive. She did not act like how the scientists wanted her to.” John looks over to Coco, both their faces low. Alloy, sighing, rests his chin in his hands. Glancing at everyone in the room, Daisy hugs Tulip tighter, even though she doesn’t know what’s going on. “They… they opened her up and took her away from- from me…” She starts to sob, making Coco jump up and rush over. Wrapping her arm around Ele’s shoulder, Coco takes her outside of the alley, Daisy hopping with them.

Alloy looks over to John, his eyebrows low. “Will she be okay?” John, pausing for a bit and shakes his head, keeping his eyes on the cracks.

Coco helps Ele sit down, keeping her hands on her shoulders. Daisy slowly walks up behind them, trying to see Ele’s face. “Take it easy, pal.” Coco requests, kneeling right beside her. Ele, feeling tired and weak, hunches over and rests her head on her legs. Coco looks over to Daisy’s mopey face and frowns. “You can talk to us, you know. We’ll listen.”

“I do **not** want to talk about it.” Coco, sighing heavily, pats her back, allowing her to cry it out.

Daisy takes Ele’s hand, unsure of what to do. Turning her body, she looks back into the alley and watches as the blurs of color move around in the distance. Snuggling against Ele’s side, Daisy peers around and runs her fingers through the remainder of Ele’s hair. “Was Peri a friend?”

She sighs, rising up and staring at the walls. Placing her hand on top of Daisy’s head, she smiles small. “Peri… was _more_ than a friend to me.” Daisy perks up at the notion, smiling small as she realizes what it means.

Coco’s eyebrows fly up, and she adjusts herself. “Ele,” The android looks at her with her glass eyes. “I promise to get her back, even if I die doing so.”

Ele smiles, wiping away the water stuck under her eyes. Slowly pulling Coco into a loose hug, Ele closes her eyes and sighs in relief. “Thank you, Coco.” Daisy gets up and hugs Ele from behind, squishing her cheek as she holds tight.

Looking behind her, she spots Peri again standing and staring at the group. Silently, she sneaks off, walking over to the android. She gently taps on her arm, and Peri’s head turns to face her, a constant grin on her face. Searching through her sweater, she pulls out a flower and holds it out to her. Peri, with strained movements, opens up her hand and allows Daisy to place it in her palm. Sighing as he watches Peri move, John glances over to the other two.

John approaches them and makes an audible cough to grab their attention. “I’m sorry to ruin the moment, but I have a proposition.” The duo breaks up, and Ele stands. Daisy strides over, holding Daisy’s hand tightly. Ele locks eyes with John, constantly tapping her fingers against her leg. “Dr. Rolle was the head of the Robotics Division. If anyone would know how to fix Peri, it’s her.”

Ele nods, placing her hand on John’s shoulder firmly. With a slight smile, she pulls him into a tight embrace, which confuses him a bit. Closing his eyes, he awkwardly pats her back, standing on his tiptoes to reach her. Tulip also runs by, rubbing her head against Ele’s arm.

The group makes their way to the entrance of the kingdom, Alloy trudges in the back, which Ele notices. She gradually slows her pace to be right next to him, looking down at him. She slightly nudges him, snatching him out from his trance. Rapidly shaking his head, Alloy knocks the back of his head a few times, and his eyes go back to their original light bulb-like design. He chuckles as he rubs the back of his neck. “Sorry for blacking out, doll!” He jokes, adjusting his grip on his satchel.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No… no, nothing’s wrong,” He reassures, staring down at his feet. “Don’t- don’t tell the others, but,” He kicks a rock across the alley. “I’m thinking of leaving.”

Her eyes go wide, and she leans down, whispering, “You are leaving? Where would you go?”

Shrugging, he shoves his hands into his pockets, sighing quietly. He raises his head and looks over at Ele’s worried face. “It’s not ‘cause of you, doll, never; you’re a _delight_ to be around.” He pulls out a small radio from his satchel, gently tapping on the glass that shows frequencies. “I got a ton of signals from Delmarva saying they need me over there.” He stuffs it back into his bag and swings the strap back over. “They told me that I’ve got a few visitors I need to see; apparently, they’re from the Rebellion… or something like that, it’s been a while since I first heard about it.”

“Will we ever see you again? I would hate to not be in your company.”

He waves his hand, smiling wide. “Don’t worry, doll. I’m sure our paths will cross again.” The two stop walking, while the others continue to make their way to the exit. Ele focuses on Peri’s limping, feeling her engine speed up again. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Alloy looks her right in the eyes with a comforting smile. “She’ll be alright. You got lucky with your choice of friends; they’ll help you like you help them.” He gives her a final pat and walks off, waving fast as he fades into the darkness. “See ya in Delmarva, doll!”

She hesitantly waves back, her smile dropping off of her face. John turns around, noticing her hunching posture. “Ele? Are you coming?” Nodding slowly, she reunites with them, standing incredibly close to Peri. Daisy unwraps a small peppermint candy and pops it into her mouth, beaming brightly. John, glancing down, notes the candy and asks her where she found it. She answers with a shrug, and she hums a tune as she hops along the path.

Walking by, a raider spots the group leaving and roars, “ **Hey** , the hybrid’s getting away!” More raiders peek out from the shadows, growing closer to them. The group turns around, with Ele holding Daisy behind her. The raiders, now surrounding them, murmur amongst themselves. “Someone get Blaz!”

Finding an opening in the crowd, John pulls Daisy and runs away, the others following as well. The six weave in and out of the alleys of the kingdom, often finding themselves in dead ends. During their attempt at escaping, the citizens of the Combustors throw cans, rotten food, and/ or sharp rocks. John struggles to pick Daisy up, but he’s able to keep her in his arms, holding on tight. Skidding around a corner, the group find themselves in an extension of the city, formed out of a hole in the stadium’s collapsing wall. John pulls everyone aside into the shadows, keeping low. Hushing the others, he peeks out from the spot, observing the opening. Once he deems it safe enough, he slowly takes them out from the hiding place. He notices a large warehouse and notifies the others.

Inside the seemingly empty building, the group surveys the area. The warehouse is surprisingly small, and a semi-large stage sits against the north wall. Transparent, deep pink curtains cover the windows with elegance and grace as they blow in the little wind. Rock equipment sits patiently on the stage, waiting with glee for somebody to play them. John places Daisy on the ground, checking her for any injuries, and luckily there are none. Coco stands right next to John, looking over to the others. “Everyone okay?” She calls out, examining their faces. Tulip walks up and sits right beside Coco, panting harder than normal.

Ele, trying desperately to hide her worry, examines Peri for possible injuries. After finding nothing wrong, she states, “We are fine. We should leave quickly.” Their discussions slowly fade out as Daisy explores the area.

She waddles about, scratching at the various bug bites on her legs. Twirling around, she quietly giggles as the world spins with bright colors and blinding lights. After her little tornado, she notices an ajar door with bright, shiny lights inside, which creates little sparkles in her eyes. She rushes over with hushed footsteps. Pushing open the door, she twinkles brightly as she enters the room.

The inside is full of bright, colorful lighting, emphasizing the dresses pulled straight from a technicolor movie. A desk sits against a wall, covered in make-up and various pieces of jewelry; a mirror sits right behind it with sparkly scarves and gloves. Daisy grins from ear to ear, rubbing her cheek against the fabric of the dresses and causing her hair to fluff up more. As she continues to obsess over the outfits, a figure appears in the doorway behind her.

* * *

John pinches the bridge of his nose, holding his glasses in his other hand. “We’ll have to find _some_ way to get home.” He paces back and forth in a short path, constantly mumbling about any conceivable plan to leave. “Maybe we can… no, we shouldn’t steal. Or perhaps…”

Coco, watching intently with a smile, sighs lovingly. “John, how about we just start walking? I’m sure we’ll find _some_ kind of car.” She chuckles, placing her hand on his shoulder and stopping his pacing. Glancing around, she feels as though there’s something missing. She does a headcount; Ele, Peri, John, Tulip, herself… but no Daisy. Her eyes go wide and she whispers, “Uh oh.”

“What? What do you mean ‘uh oh’?” John asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Where’s Daisy?” John and Ele look around themselves and notice the absence of the small child. He runs over to various areas nearby, checking under every single potential hiding place. “Daisy?” He calls out, feeling his breathing growing faster.

Ele follows him around, looking at each spot for the slight chance that he missed her. Coco, running up to them, tries to help in the search by pulling back curtains. Peri, going along with her, smiles wide, saying, “Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin!” She exclaims, unable to hear her volume.

Suddenly, the four of them are hanging from their feet, except Tulip, who is being held with her back against the large figure’s stomach. They’re brought in front of a fashionable woman appearing as if she was not affected by the bombs. She flips up her sunglasses, scowling at the group. Scoffing, she puts her hands on her hips. “Care to explain what _you_ all are doing here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i missed peri so much :''')))) she was one of my favorites growing up lol


	9. Performing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Talks of physical abuse
> 
> A stellar performance! But what's behind the curtain?

“ _Well_ ?” She asks once more, glaring right at them. Her outfit is extravagant, with a multitude of beaded jewelry pouring down from her neck and fingers and floral patterns all over her loose clothing. Sighing, she lights a cigarette, taking a long drag from it. “Why you scrappers don’t understand what _private_ property is is beyond me.”

Coco’s eyes shimmer and she gasps, pointing at her and chuckling enthusiastically. “ _You’re_ Akari Allen!”

“Oh?” Akari cocks her eyebrow, putting her cigarette out onto her bodyguard’s arm. “I see you’re a fan.”

“Of _course_ !” She clasps her hands together, closing her eyes as her head throbs from the blood pouring into her brain. “I **_loved_ ** the Servants of Aphrodite! You were _so_ inspiring!” She exclaims, moving her necklace away from her face. “Especially ‘Amused By Your Woman’!”

Raising her eyebrows and smirking, she snickers, covering her mouth. “Oh, dear, _what_ a story that was! How the press nearly exploded over it! They took _that_ song off the radio just as quickly as it appeared in the public’s precious, straight ears,” Playing with her boa, she smiles while staring at the floor. “Whether their claims are true, well, it’s _all_ up to interpretation. Though, I do _wish_ they paid more attention to our album _Tango in Roses_ ; we worked _exceptionally_ hard on it-” Before she continues rambling, she shakes her head and remembers the trespassers. “ **_Wait a second_ **, you’re making me talk about the band just so you can distract me, aren’t you?” John and Coco shake their heads, and Ele just hangs there with her usual blank expression.

“We’re just here for the moment, Ms. Allen, and we’ll be out of your hair.”

Scoffing, she bends down, glaring at John. “ _Sure_ ,” She stands back up, motioning at the large expanse of the warehouse. “this is _my band’s_ venue, and you just _so happen to be here_ . You scrappers _always_ come here before my concerts just to leak out the song list and steal my supplies. _Well,_ not **this** time.”

John, now feeling light-headed, tries to explain the situation again. “Miss, we’re _just_ trying to find someone. We truly mean no harm-”

She goes down again, taking his cheeks into her hands, and she coos mockingly, “Aw, _of course,_ _I believe you_ , mister!” She shakes his head around a bit before slapping it gently, causing him to furrow his eyebrows at her. Clasping her hands together, she holds them close to her cheeks, closing her eyes tight. “Why else would you all be _here_ in the dead of night?”

Coco, now a bit frustrated, struggles to get out of the bodyguard’s tight grasp of her ankles. “We just want Daisy! _Where_ is she?”

“ _Who_?” The small child hops out of the room, now wearing a new, fresh dress under her sweater and a face fully covered in make-up. She spots her family and darts over, giggling loudly.

Running up to them, she jumps around, trying to show off her new outfit. “Look! Look! It’s new!” Her sudden appearance startles the group, and all of them let out a sigh of relief when they see no injuries.

Coco quietly claps, smiling wide. “Super cute, hon’! Loving the make-up!” She reaches up and pats her on the head, ruffling her hair.

With a slight grin, John tries to keep his glasses from falling off his face. “It’s a little much, don’t you think? Though green is a good color for you, Daisy.” He laughs to himself, reaching over and patting her hair.

Akari, realizing what’s going on, snaps her fingers, and the bodyguards let them go. They hit the ground rather hard with a loud thunk. “I didn’t know you were related to this little cutie-pie. You should’ve said something sooner,” John opens his mouth, but he just shakes his head and slowly stands up. “Any family member of hers is welcome here.”

Rubbing the back of his head, John questions, “Where did you go? We were worried _sick_ ,” He looks directly at Daisy, holding her shoulders lightly.

Akari shifts around in her place, constantly glaring at him. “I found her in my dressing room, rubbing her face all over my dresses,” Hesitantly, she pats Daisy’s hair, leaning down slightly. “Although, she’s _a little_ … _special_ ; children don’t come with _magical flowers_ , right?” She points to a faint scar left on her arm.

Shaking his head, John slowly stands up, brushing off his pants. “Daisy is just,” He looks down at the frown slowly encroaching on her face and sighs. “different; her flowers heal wounds.”

Akari raises her eyebrows and scoffs, closing her eyes and smiling. Gesturing to the stage, she tells them, “There’s a concert tonight, I think it’d be far out.”

Ele quietly stands up, keeping her eye on Peri, who had already stood up and staying in a stiff position. Akari talks with the others, the topics all coming back to the band. With a static-filled voice, she states, “All species of beetles are edible!”

Akari stares at the android with a puzzled look, lowering her eyebrows and pointing inconspicuously at her. Whispering, she asks, “ _Is… there something wrong with her_ ?” John and Coco attempt to speak, but Ele’s dagger-like glare forces them both to stay quiet. Making a popping sound, Akari points away, and her bodyguards march towards the entrance and the back doors. “If you want,” She leads the group backstage, flipping over her scarves dramatically. “you all can come chill backstage until the show starts. Alright?” They all nod, staying far behind her. “Oh, and there’s some supplies back there. You can take _some_ with you, but if I find out you took them all-” She makes a cracking sound and slides her thumb along her neck. With a smirk, she saunters away, fanning herself with her hand. John rapidly nods his head, giving her a thumbs up. “ _Good_! See you then!” She parts way with them, fighting back a snicker as she lights another cigarette.

Daisy, hopping up to John and Coco, beams greatly, spinning in her dress. She giggles as she tugs on Coco’s sleeves, causing her to look down with a smile. Even with the new dress and shoes, she still wears the barely stitched up sweater with glee. John, furrowing his eyebrows, stares at the pristine outfit; it looks as though it never went through the struggles of nuclear war. “I still think it’s a little too much,” He watches as Daisy kicks off the shoes, throwing them far away from her. Tulip runs over and licks the child, whining intensely. Sighing with a smile, John pats her head. “I’m glad you like it, Daisy.”

Coco kneels down, examining the stitches and seams as her eyes twinkle. “You know,” She feels the fabric, trying to identify what it is. “if you want, I could make some dresses for you,” she says, flattening the polyester ends back to their original position.

As John relishes in the two’s glee about dresses, his eyes drift to Ele setting Peri down against the wall. Ele stares deep into the glass eyes of her once lover, unable to say anything besides an occasional ‘please’. She sits right in front of her, rubbing her busted hand with her thumb. Peri continues to spill out useless facts, sparks coming through the cracks under her eye. John, feeling small tears welling up behind his eyelids, walks over. Squatting down, he sighs and watches the electricity jump out. When he looks back at Ele, he places his hand on her shoulder. Whispering, he says, “Ele,” She turns her head to face him. “we’re going to fix her, no matter what. And,” He looks down. “if you need _anything_ , just let me know. I’m alway available to talk.”

And she smiles wide for what felt like an eternity of hiding. Nodding, Ele closes her eyes and moves to a more relaxed position. Without the usual harshness in her tone, she replies, “I know.”

Hours pass, and a flock of rockers and nonviolent raiders flood the warehouse. Sound of life and passion explode and echo off the concrete walls. The people follow the bodyguards as they guide them to the designated area for the concert. Akari, struggling to comb through her hair, watches from behind the stitched-up curtain. Taking in a deep breath, she turns around and clasps her hands together. She takes a quick glance at her bandmates, all prepping their instruments. One of them picks up on Akari’s movements, and she sets her bass guitar down, making her way over. She takes Akari’s hand, and smiles. “It’s gonna be all good, hon.”

With a scoff, she stares back out to the crowd. “I know, Belle.”

“Think of it like this: We have a special performer! The crowd will go nuts over it!” Belle rubs her back, and Akari rests her head on her shoulder. The other bandmate comes up from behind, giving the two their instruments. “C’mon, we gotta get your outfit on. Gotta dress to impress!” she exclaims as she guides Akari to the dressing room, keeping her arm around her shoulders.

* * *

John gently places Peri down against some boxes. Looking over to the security guard, he makes sure the man knows to protect her, and he responds with a nod. He heads back out with the others, trying to keep Ele’s mind off of Peri. “She’ll be just fine, Ele,” he reassures. “Akari said that he was her _best_ bodyguard; nothing will get past him.” She smiles and pats his back, oblivious to how strong her pat is, and he nearly falls over.

Coco, rubbing his back and helping him up, chuckles and points to the crowd. “Better not die until we get to the good spot. You have to be in the middle, otherwise you’re too far or so close you could see Akari’s brain through her nose.”

Fixing his glasses, John furrows his eyebrows as Tulip nudges his leg. “You know, I never took you for a rock person.”

“You’d be surprised about _all_ the secrets I’m _hiding_ , big guy,” She elbows him and winks, which causes him to chortle to himself.

Ele rolls her eyes and pulls them forward. “Be appropriate,” The four of them continue to make their way towards the center of the crowd. Ele, without hesitation, begins to push people aside, forcing her way through the crowd as John and Coco apologize for her. The lights dim, except for a single spotlight that shines down directly onto the stage. When the curtains fly apart, the three figures stand tall and proud with their instruments fired up and ready to go. Belle counts down, and with a strum of Akari’s guitar, passion-filled strains fill the air. With the music starting, Akari leans into the microphone, whispering, “How are all my fellow servants doing tonight?” she asks in a smooth, honeyed voice. The crowd responds with screams and whistling, Coco joining in to the annoyance of Ele. “It’s a pleasure to serve our mighty Aphrodite. But… we’re here to serve _you_ lovely people now.” She strums a single chord and smirks. “I call this one, ‘Honey, Let's Be Free’.” Nodding to her bandmates, she begins to play, softly singing without much of a struggle.

John watches Coco’s dancing, smiling to himself as he bobs his head along, and to Ele and Tulip’s unbothered stances. Furrowing his eyebrows, John inspects the surrounding area, mumbling to himself. Coco, pausing in her enjoyment, taps his shoulder, asking, “Everything alright?”

“ _No_ , nothing is ‘alright’,” He adjusts his glasses and points to the space next to him. “We lost Daisy, _again_ !” Ele perks up and leans around to see as well. The three of them search the immediate area, causing a disturbance with the other concert goers. “Oh God, we lost her! She could be _anywhere_! What if she’s getting hurt?”

Ele, shoving people aside, asks in a harsh tone, “Have you seen a small child with large hair?” They shake their heads rapidly with wide eyes and backing up. Their search continues for a good while as the concert nearly reaches its peak. When they group back up, Ele states her report, “I did not find anything.”

“Neither did I,” Coco says as well, constantly fiddling with her necklace. “John, we- we have to tell someone- like a bodyguard.” The warehouse suddenly goes dark, the only light coming from the stage. The three look over, John narrowing his eyes at the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, introducing our special performance from the lovely-” Daisy jumps out from behind the curtains, decked out in sparkles and bright clothing. The trio’s mouths go agape. “Daisy!”

Coco, completely stunned and closing her mouth with her hand, whispers, “Holy _shit_!”

Slowly shifting his face into a frown, John furrows his eyebrows and takes off his glasses. “You have to be kidding me,” Daisy hops around the stage, mumbling most of the lyrics to the song without a care in the world. The bandmates laugh in between their singing, happily watching, and even joining in, Daisy’s joyful jigs. John, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, glances over to Coco and Ele’s smiles. “Are you two _not_ concerned with this?” he asks with a shaky voice, gesturing to the action.

Shrugging, Coco chuckles and slightly nudges him. “Don’t worry, big guy. If they try anything, Ele here,” She pats Ele’s shoulder, closing her eyes. “will take care of them. Right, El?” She nods, crossing her arms and standing guard. Coco, sighing, wraps her arm around his shoulders, smiling small. “Don’t worry, she’ll be all good,” Putting her hair up, she reaches up and waves rapidly at Daisy, calling out excitedly to her and hoping she sees her. John chortles and pats her back gently, keeping his wounded hand in his pocket.

The concert begins to die down as the band gets down to their second to last song. Coco, swaying along to the tune, sighs and closes her eyes. Leaning over onto John, she tries to take his hand, but she feels something rough. She moves around and sees the bloodied bandages covering his hand. “John,” she whispers, nudging him. He peeks over, furrowing his eyebrows. “what’s wrong with your hand?” Taking the hand, she raises it for him to see. With avoiding eyes, John coughs and turns his head.

“Let’s… just focus on the performance, yes?”

“John, no, what’s wrong? Did someone hurt you? Were you jumped?”

He waves her away, shaking his head and shutting his eyes tight. With a strained voice, he tells her, “It’s nothing,” His vision begins to blur, and his ears ring heavily. Gripping his head, he starts to walk away, shoving people aside to their annoyance.

“John, you can’t avoid this,” She rushes after him, keeping the distance between them as small as possible. “ **Stop** , you **have** to talk to me,” She reaches for his shoulder and snatches the back of his collar, pulling him towards backstage, but he doesn’t fight back. Letting go of him, she stands right before him with her hands on her hips. “What is going on with you? I thought you weren’t going to keep secrets from me?” Taking his hand into her own, she gently rubs her thumb over the bandages, causing him to quietly hiss through his teeth. “You told me about your mental illness, why didn’t you tell me about _this_?” she asks with a wobbly voice, lowering her eyebrows and holding back tears.

Retracting his hand back, John scoffs, fixing his glasses. “You cannot be talking about secrets,” Coco’s eyes go wide, and she shakes her head. “If you don’t have to tell me about _your_ injuries, then I don’t have to tell you about _mine_.”

“ **_My_ ** injury?” With that comment, Coco grunts and pushes her hair away, pulling her sweater collar down to show a large spreading burn going from the bottom of her jaw to her shoulder. “You **_really_ ** wanna know about this? **Fine** ,” She moves everything back, refusing to hiss from the pain. “I was working on a prototype for the Nuclear Energy Project, a way to minimize the need for large power plants. I guess spending so much time near nuclear material starts to wear you away,” John shrinks down into his torso, looking down at the ground. “So now I got a radiation burn on my neck, but at least I won’t have to deal with more, right? Oh, wait!” She gestures to everything, a deep scowl on her face. “I gotta deal with the radiation still around because _my_ schematics caused all this shit! Lillian took them and didn’t bother telling me what they were _used_ for, so now I gotta deal with my developing radiation sickness _and_ the fact that I started World War fucking III!” She grips her forehead, sighing as she closes her eyes. “I don’t tell you _any_ of this, I’ve told _no one_ , because I don’t wanna be a bother. If I keep quiet about what’s hurting me, then I can help people with their problems, like you,” John, picking at his bandages, feels an ache behind his head pounding against his skull. He covers his mouth, feeling the tears forming beneath his eyelids. “Now please, tell me what’s wrong.”

He’s silent, guilt taking over his mind and preventing him from speaking. Staring at her, he feels his limbs weaken and his legs shake under him. In an instant, the tears burst out of their prison, and John breaks down. Coco, as soon as he starts crying, catches him before he falls to the ground. He yells and sobs, salty tears and mucus streaming down his face. Taking him over to a pile of boxes, she sets him and herself down, letting him collapse onto her. “I’m so sorry,” he manages to say, gasping for air. “I’m so so sorry. I… need to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” She takes off his glasses and places them beside her, combing through his hair.

He tries to speak, but there’s a large lump in his throat. Struggling, he says, “Lillian… Lillian… she hurt me,” Coco’s eyes fixate on the slightly fading scars barely covered by his hair, and she tightens her hold of him. “She would… beat me if I didn’t please her. Everyday that I went into work… I thought I might die; that today would be the day she’d snap and… murder me,” His tears begin to dry up, and Coco rubs his back as he tries to breathe through his nose. “One day, she… got so… fed up with me that she slammed my head… against a table,” John sighs and burrows closer to her neck. “If I told anyone, I’d be… blacklisted from any lab and forced to work in construction like my… **_father_ **,” he sneers the word, narrowing his eyes to the ground.

Looking all around, Coco stares at the scars once more, feeling her heart pounding. “If she hurt you that badly… why do you wanna find her?” He pulls away, swiftly taking his glasses and planting them back onto his nose.

“Why do _you_ want to find her? Why do we all want to find her? Answers,” Sighing, he leans over and rests his head in his hands, his glasses sliding down to the tip of his nose. “She cannot get away with her actions, Cornelia. If we let her run away, she could hurt more people,” Coco nods, fiddling with her necklace as she continues to rub his back. “But first,” Turning to her, he gives her a small smile. “I would like to apologize. I never gave you the chance to talk about your feelings, and I feel horrible about it. So,” He takes both of her hands into his. “please tell me what’s troubling you,” With tears pouring out of her eyes, she nods again, smiling wide. The two stay backstage, hidden from the crowd, and they talk with one another, feeling the tension release from their minds.

* * *

Daisy hops out from behind the curtains, giggling and accidentally wiping off her makeup. Belle, swinging her bass over her shoulders, saunters out and pats her head. “Good job out there, hon!” She leans down and gives Daisy a high-five, a large smile on the child’s face.

Akari, with a lit cigarette in one hand, scoffs, adding with, “I think the people _loved_ it, wouldn’t you say, Alma?” The silent figure nods and claps quietly. “If only you could stay, we could greatly increase our audience with your help.”

The word help echoes in Daisy’s mind, and she beams brightly, hopping all around. “Yes! Yes! Help! Oh, but family first!” she exclaims, nearly tripping over her own dress. Her eyes immediately shift to stare at a hooded figure walking towards them.

“Great job with the show! Loved the outfit,” They take off the hood and smile wide, their pale skin shining in the light.

Before they can say another word, Daisy leaps towards them, giggling and laughing without a care in the world. “Vally! Vally!” she yells in between her laughter and crying. The band gathers around the two, staring down with cocked eyebrows and narrow eyes. “Vally, where’d you go?”

Chuckling, Valerian slowly pushes her off, attempting to stand up. “I had… an adventure to go on to find Mom,” she answers in a hushed tone. Placing her hands on Daisy’s shoulders, she asks, “What have you been up to?” Daisy’s eyes glitter and shine as she explains her journey thus far. Valerian listens to each and every word, constantly looking all around her. The band departs back to their dressing rooms, leaving the two in the dim lighting behind the stage. Daisy, exhausted, flops to the ground, letting out a big breath of air. “Daisy?” Her little head peeks up. “Could you… go get the others? I wanna see them,” The small child nods rapidly, standing up and hopping through the curtains as she giggles loudly. Valerian sighs and stares at her shaking hands, feeling the world around her starting to fade into static. She listens intently for footsteps. When she hears some, she identifies one of the sounds.

“Valerian!” John calls out, smiling wide and fixing his glasses. Coco and Ele walk beside him, Peri lagging a bit behind under Ele’s arm. “It’s so great to see you again!” Tulip, barking like a madwoman, dashes for her, leaping on and licking her. Valerian laughs, ruffling the dog’s thick, tangled fur. “It seems like Tulip likes you already.”

“Tulip likes all!” Daisy shouts, plopping her head onto Tulip’s back and humming a tune.

John leans down, inspecting Valerian’s head. “Are you okay? Any injuries?”

With a quiet laugh, Valerian pulls her hand away, rubbing it slightly. “No, I’m fine.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” He smiles and pushes up his glasses. “How are your flowers? I cannot imagine how the grueling environment affects them.”

Valerian laughs, rubbing her hand over her dry skin. “Don’t worry, John,” Reaching into her satchel, she pulls out a sharp knife, shocking John. “I can protect myself. Besides, I met some… people who help keep my flowers alive,” She places the knife back, looking over to Daisy with her face still in Tulip’s fur. Smiling small, she sighs. “It’s scary out there. I saw a big like pig? It had horns and just squealed at me. It tried eating my flowers, so I had to wrangle it.”

“Did it work?” Coco asks, fixing her ponytail.

Valerian pulls out a large horn from her bag. “You tell me.” Coco laughs, covering her mouth as she snorts. 

John sighs in relief, pushing up his glasses with his knuckles. He gently takes her hand into his, looking her right in the eyes with tired, kind eyes. “Valerian,” Looking at him as well, she can already feel tears forming in her eyes. “it’s fantastic to see you again. If you  _ ever _ need it, you can always come live with us,” She smiles wide, sniffling and wiping her tears away. “I think Daisy would love to have her sister around,” They look over to Daisy, now flopped on the floor and staring at the ceiling while making random noises. “Lord knows she needs it,” he jokingly whispers, chuckling to himself. Standing up, he walks over to the others, Valerian following as well. “So, we’d have to tell Telluria for more rations… but then we’d have to get home first.”

Ele looks around, tapping her plastic chin. “We could use the raider cars.”

“No, no; they’d never let  _ us _ use them.”

Ele shrugs. “Then we steal them.”

“ _ No _ ! Then we’re like them, do you want to be a raider?” He asks, pinching his nose bridge.

“I have a car,” Valerian speaks up, picking at the skin next to her fingernail. The others turn to her, waiting for more information. “It’s just… outside. I got it from an old auto body shop,” She fidgets with her hands, shifting from side to side.

John furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head. “Where did you learn to drive?”

“I just figured it out. It’s very easy,” John raises his eyebrows and chuckles, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Come on, we don’t want to be caught.”

Valerian pushes the back door open, the others following as well. The cold bites them, and it’s completely black outside. Daisy stays near Tulip and John, holding tightly to his hand. John looks out to the empty darkness, squinting really hard to try and find the vehicle, but none are in sight. “Uh, Valerian,” He stops walking, gripping Daisy’s hand tighter. “where’s the car-” Before he can finish his sentence, he’s struck in the back of the head, falling over onto the ground. Simultaneously, the others are also knocked out. Tulip attempts to bite the attackers, but they wrestle her to the ground and tie her legs up.

Carrying the unconscious bodies, the large, mysterious figures place them in the back of the truck, shoving Tulip into the large trunk. Valerian watches with wide eyes, about to take off, when a figure approaches from the dark. The nasally Beast Tamer enters from the darkness, snapping his fingers and pointing to Valerian. The bigger figures grab some rope and tie her up, making sure she can’t move her wrists or ankles. Panicking, she yelps, “What happened to our agreement?!”

“Sorry,  _ sweetheart _ ,” he sneers, squatting down and patting her on the head. “change of plans. The boss wants ya, and what he says goes.”

“But you said I could leave!”

“We gave you what you were lookin’ for, now it’s time you repay us,” He takes out a pocket knife and holds it up to the flowers growing on her back. “and those flowers will help us out  _ so much _ ,” He stands back up, ordering the big guys around. “Get her in the truck.”

“N-no! Wait!” They knock her out, shoving her in the back with the others. As the raiders pile in, the nasally man glares at them in the backseat.

One of his lackeys looks over, cocking his eyebrow. “Somethin’ wrong, Ivan?”

Cackling, Ivan turns back around, adjusting the taped-up side mirror. “Nah, start driving before they catch us,” The lackey nods and speeds off, leaving behind dust and flower petals. The road is incredibly bumpy and causes the knocked-out passengers to constantly hit the sides of the car.

Akari steps out, nervously looking around. When she doesn’t spot anyone in the never-ending void, she panics and rushes back inside, yelling and demanding someone come outside and help. The door slams shut, leaving the area completely silent and dark. The only sound comes from the mice and other small animals rummaging around the trash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fuck.


	10. Finding

After hours of being stuffed in the back, the six are thrown onto the floor, with Tulip shoved into a cage. The large throne room is musty and covered in various molds and moss; it’s rechtedly hard to breathe. Large guards, wearing plague doctor masks made from bone, stand around the perimeter, holding their weapons close to their scarred bodies. John grips his head and scrambles to Daisy, checking for any injuries. Ele does the same but with Peri, rubbing her finger gently over the cracks. Valerian, nearly hyperventilating, tries to scoot away, but she’s stopped by the guards. Clapping sounds from behind a curtain, and out walks a tall, skinny man wearing a raggedy sheet for a cape. His hair is horribly matted and sticks up, and he tries to flatten it to no avail. With a snap of his fingers, the six are scooped up and held tightly by his guardsmen. Once in the light, it’s clear how dead this man looks; his caved-in eyes, pale skin, and skinny physique.

“Now, now,” he begins, his voice thick and croaky. “what have we here?” He takes his sharp finger and slides it along Valerian’s jaw, holding her face in his clawed grip. “Looks like the little bird was caught in the cage once again. What say you?” He snaps again, and Valerian is released from her clutches. 

“This… wasn’t part of the deal.”

“No?” he sneers. “Well, my  **_apologies_ ** , little bird. Our doctor found out about your little-” He pulls her hood down and exposes her flowers to the rest. “-flowers. What good use they’ll be.”

Valerian covers herself again, glaring at the tall figure. The others look around, desperate for a way out. She glances over to them, feeling her heart drop out of her chest. “I’ll give you my flowers,” The figure smiles, wide with both sides nearly reaching his eyes. “If-” Pointing to her family, she furrows her eyebrows. “-you let them go.”

He cackles, grabbing her face again. “How  **_stupid_ ** do you think I am?” He hurls her to the ground, standing right over top of her. “We cannot lose such precious resources just so you don’t feel guilty for betraying them,” Another snap. “Take her away,” The guards approach Valerian and drag her out of the room, slamming the barely stable door behind them. “Now,” He turns his attention to the five, still being held up, marching towards them. “what to do with you lot.”

Coco kicks around, struggling to try to free herself. “Who even are you, you  **_creep_ ** !”

Bewildered, he furrows his eyebrows, staring her down. “Who am  **_I_ ** ?  **_I_ ** am Aaron Duke! The Lich and ruler of the Plagues!” He steps closer to them, staring and admiring their terrified faces, except for Ele, who simply has her standard unimpressed expression. “ **_Oh_ ** . I see we have a few androids with us,” Reaching for her face, he sneers, “Why, aren’t you afraid, android? I could end your puny life right about n **OW** !” She bites his hand, nearly crushing it with her steel teeth. Shaking his hand out, he narrows his eyes at her. “Why you little-” He raises his fist, but pauses, slowly putting it back down. “You’re lucky we need you,  **_android_ ** ,” His attempt at intimidation only causes Ele to roll her eyes. Moving back to his original position, he gazes out to all five of them. “Now, back to what I was-”

Coco, now fuming inside, screams out, “Just let us go already, you freakish zombie!”

He raises his eyebrows, feeling his cheeks flush with pink, which is the only actual color on his skin. Smirking, he lightly taps her nose, which only makes her grumble more. “I  _ like _ you.”

“Huh?”

“Guards!” Clapping obnoxiously, he points to the same broken-down door. “Escort them to the jail cell. But,” His finger hands in Coco’s direction. “Leave her here.”

The guards, grunting and mumbling under their breaths, carry the others towards the jail cells. Daisy kicks and screams, feeling her chest tighten as she squirms around.

The hallway of cells is desolate, with nearly all of the enclosures caved in or covered in plants. If there was light, it wouldn’t be found here; only faint candles illuminate the pathway. There’s only one cell in somewhat good condition, and Valerian is sitting inside of it. She peers up, her eyes red and tears, and she covers her head with her cloak. 


End file.
